Unearthing Australia’s climate history

Our research has found that in June 1872, Perth experienced one of its most severe  storms of the 19th century. Barometer observations made during this storm show that atmospheric pressure was at one of its lowest levels since 1830. The associated flooding from the storm was reported as one of the most severe floods since … Continue reading June 1872: Severe storm and flooding in Perth

By Joelle Gergis, Australian National University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article from March 24, 2021. Over the past three years, I’ve been working on the forthcoming report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I’m a climate scientist who contributed to the … Continue reading Yes, Australia is a land of flooding rains. But climate change could be making it worse

Our team is now looking for volunteers to help create Australia’s longest daily weather record from a globally recognised climate change ‘hot spot’. The citizen science project will help scientists reconstruct Perth’s daily weather from 1830 to the present day. These historical records are critical for understanding Australia’s pre-industrial climate, and how climate change has … Continue reading Australia’s longest weather record from climate change ‘hot spot’

In 1896, there was a great celebration for the unveiling of West Australia’s weather observatory’s foundation stone in Perth Park (now Kings Park and Botanic Garden). That year, Premier John Forrest said that the observatory: “… showed that in the time of our prosperity we were trying to elevate and improve the public mind and to do something for the encouragement of the arts and sciences… Western Australians might be proud they were doing something to enlighten their people and to join hands with the scientists all over the world.”