Abnormal Autumn

The first five points from the Executive Summary of IPCC’s latest regional report for Australasia:

1. The regional climate is changing (very high confidence).
2. Warming is projected to continue through the 21st century (virtually certain) along with other changes in climate.
3. Uncertainty in projected rainfall changes remains large for many parts of Australia and New Zealand, which creates significant challenges for adaptation.
4. Recent extreme climatic events show significant vulnerability of some ecosystems and many human systems to current climate variability (very high confidence), and the frequency and/or intensity of such events is projected to increase in many locations (medium to high confidence)
5. Without adaptation, further changes in climate, atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidity are projected to have substantial impacts on water resources, coastal ecosystems, infrastructure, health, agriculture and biodiversity (high confidence).

The average temperature for April 2014 was 1.11 degrees celsius above the long-term average, and continuation of abnormally warm temperatures into late May has delayed the onset of winter conditions across southern Australia. [Source: Climate Council]

Link

• Climate Council
• Climate Council – Abnormal Autumn
• IPCC – Fifth Assessment
• Regional Update – Australasia [ PDF ]