Article
BAMOS March 2023
State of weather & climate extremes 2022
ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes ( CLEX )
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The graphic shows some significant events in 2022 . Source :
CLEX .
Australia experienced a year of record-breaking extreme events in 2022 .
The State of Weather and Climate Extremes 2022 provides a summary of the significant extreme weather and climate events which occurred in 2022 across Australia and Antarctica . The report provides a description of each event and an explanation which reflects our understanding of the causes .
The report analyses key weather and climate extremes from 2022 , including :
• The wide ranging impacts of a third consecutive La Niña
• Extreme heat in Western Australia the Northern Territory and Antarctica
• An extreme cold snap in Queensland
• Winds and hail causing widespread damage across southern Australia
• The loss of significant sea ice and collapse of an ice shelf in Antarctica
• Devastating floods across much of Australia and a unique “ inland tsunami ”.
“ After multiple broken records and extreme events in 2022 , it ’ s vital for the scientific community to redouble our efforts to understand the causes , influences and implications of extreme weather and climate events ,” says CLEX Deputy Director Professor Julie Arblaster .
“ Many of these extreme events were unprecedented and unexpected . Our job as scientists is to understand why and constantly evolve our work so communities and decision makers can plan for the future . In a warming climate some of these events may be more common or severe than in the past , so we must keep developing our technology and our underlying research on which these decisions rely ."
The State of Climate and Weather Extremes 2022 report is a collaboration between 13 of Australia ’ s leading climate science experts and reflects a diverse range of expertise being utilised to keep Australian and international communities safer and more prepared in an uncertain climate . Read the report
here .
CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology also released the State of the Climate Report 2022 recently . The report shows an increase in extreme heat events , intense heavy rainfall , longer fire seasons and sea level rise . Read that report
here and
here .