From Climate Progress: Drought, fires, killer heat waves, wildlife extinction and mosquito-borne illness — the things that climate change models are predicting have already arrived there, [scientists] say. That’s the subhead on a stunning L.A. Times piece, “What will global warming look like? Scientists point to Australia,” which opens starkly: Reporting from The Murray-Darling Basin, […]
by Lewis Smith Conservationists are demanding an immediate and thorough inquiry into what they say is the suspicious stranding of 200 whales and dolphins. Fears that the mass stranding on an Australian beach on Sunday was caused by human disturbance were raised because two species of cetacean came ashore simultaneously. Most of the animals were […]
MELBOURNE, Feb 26 (AFP) Feb 26, 2009 – Hundreds of Australian schools and childcare centres will be closed Friday because of a resurgent threat from wildfires that have already killed more than 200 people, officials said. … Temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) are expected across the state on Friday, raising fears that […]
By Tara Ravens NORTHERN Australia is facing a fresh wave of potentially catastrophic mammal extinctions, experts warn. Australia has the worst mammal extinction record in the world, with 22 mammals becoming extinct in the last 200 years. Scientists now say the evidence suggests Australia is on the cusp of another wave. Over 40 scientists […]
Black Saturday Recount By Ioan Thomas The fire that hit Victoria on “Black Saturday” was one that had never been seen in Australia before. Victoria had gone through “Ash Wednesday” in 1983 and “Black Friday” in 1939. Australia’s capital city, Canberra, was badly damaged in 2004 by bushfires, with over 500 houses destroyed and four […]
From Tamino: One of the most dramatic signs of the recent drought is the level of lakes in the region. The level for lake Alexandrina is at a remarkable all-time low, presently half a meter below sea level. Drought in Australia Technorati Tags: Australia,drought,global warming
Sydney (AFP) Feb 16, 2009 – Australia Monday began counting the economic cost of wild weather this month which left the northeast under water and the southeast in flames. Floods unleashed by cyclonic rains saw much of Queensland state declared a disaster area, a week before a record heatwave sparked the worst wildfires in history […]
All signs point to the climate becoming more extreme by Marian Wilkinson and Ben Cubby When hundreds of small, grey-headed flying foxes began falling from the sky at Yarra Bend in suburban Melbourne, for some it heralded the awful events that would later unfold. It was Wednesday, January 28, one day into the ferocious heatwave […]
By James Campbell, Sunday Herald Sun MELBOURNE is shrouded in a smoke haze as the Victoria fires continue to burn across the state. Visibility at Melbourne airport is down to 2km with the Bureau of Meteorology warning the haze could linger until the end of next week. The Environment Protection Authority has issued a smoke […]
by Asa Wahlquist VICTORIA’S bushfires have released a massive amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere – almost equal to Australia’s industrial emission for an entire year. Mark Adams, from the University of Sydney, said the emissions from bushfires were far beyond what could be contained through carbon capture and needed to be addressed in […]
