Australia is a land characterised by dramatic climate and weather extremes. Currently, our understanding of the nation’s climatic history is mostly confined to official records kept by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology that begin in 1900, despite the fact that observations are available from first European settlement of Australia in 1788. Colonial weather observations taken … Continue reading Historical climate data can improve our assessment of future climate risk
What was Australia’s climate like before official weather records began in the early 1900s? How did the climate impact the lives of people living in the 1800s? The answers to these questions lie deep in historical records, such as old weather journals, early newspapers, photographs, and colonial paintings. And thanks to some very dedicated early-settlers, … Continue reading Help piece together Australia’s longest daily weather record
The team at Climate History Australia aim to reconstruct the Australian climate over past centuries. You too can discover more about the history of South Australia’s climate with these 16 images relating to the climate history of the Adelaide region. ...
We pieced together weather records back to 1838 to create Australia’s longest analysis of daily temperature extremes and their impacts on society. We found snow was once a regular feature of the southern Australian climate. But as Australia continues to warm under climate change, cold extremes are becoming less frequent and heatwaves more common. ...
