Monday 14 November, 2005

MEDIA RELEASE

2005: Australia's warmest year on record?

Australia has experienced its warmest start to a year on record (since 1950), with the January-to-October temperature averaging 1.03 degrees Celsius above the 30-year average (1961-1990). As the year nears an end, a record-breaking year is looking likely - another indicator of climate change.

"Annual mean temperatures have generally increased throughout Australia since 1910, particularly since the 1950s," says Mike Coughlan, head of the National Climate Centre within the Bureau of Meteorology. As the average temperature has risen, we have also seen an increase in the incidence of hot days and hot nights, and a reduction in the number of cold days and nights. This warming is mirrored in the oceans around Australia.

Warming is not the only sign of change we are observing in Australia's climate. Other changes include a marked decline in rainfall in the south-west and parts of south-east Australia, and recent reductions in rainfall through the eastern states. At the same time, rainfall in the arid interior and north-west has increased dramatically, in some places nearly doubling during the past 50 years.

"Work has only just begun to attribute causes to the observed climate changes in Australia. Nevertheless, many of the observed changes appear to be broadly consistent with those expected from human-induced climate change."

Mike Coughlan will be reporting on the bureau's observations of climate change in Australia at the Greenhouse 2005 conference at Melbourne's Carlton Crest Hotel on Wednesday 16 November.

The final 2005 value is expected to be known in early January 2006.

Further information:
Mike Coughlan, head of the National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology,
tel: (03) 9669 4086 or 0409 015 872

David Jones, National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology,
tel: (03) 9669 4085 or 0400 132 764

Greenhouse2005 conference: http://www.greenhouse2005.com
Simon Torok mob: 0409 844 302 or Craig Macaulay mob: 0419 966 465

Ends