Climate change blamed for stealing rain from Australia

September 29, 2016 3:05 PM | Skymet Weather Team

When most pockets of southeast Australia faced extreme hot and dry weather last summer, weathermen stated it to be because of a high-pressure system obstructing the cloud formation. Another reason that was to be blamed was the rise of greenhouse gases.

Recent research indicated it is the human-caused climate change that is harming most parts of Australia by stealing significant rain and also by pushing south westerly winds towards Antarctica.

This robbing of rain along with 2015 being Australia's fifth-warmest year on record and 2016 almost to be the hottest was a threatening mix.

Climate change is already having a major impact on parts of Australia according to a few findings.

Just looking at the rain activity in southeast Australia, it was important to think through other weather events such as El Nino phenomenon, which led to hot and dry weather conditions.

Southwest Australia was most affected from this change, it had lost one-fifth of its rainfall since the 1970s.

Antarctica and the Southern Ocean experience thrilling fluctuations in climate year to year. A 2015 study between CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology found climate change to hit Australia harder than any other country, therefore expect a rise in temperature of more than five degrees within 80 years.

Rainfall in southern Australia was expected to reduce significantly over the next few decades, likewise severe fire seasons for southern and eastern parts of the country was foreseen.

According to weather experts, within just 10 - 20 years, southern Australia can face heatwaves on an average of 13 days longer at 1.5 degrees and 20 days longer at 2 degrees Fahrenheit, however dry spells would be 3.5 days longer at 1.5 degrees and six days at 2 degrees Fahrenheit.

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