News

  • A dramatic nighttime thunderstorm illuminates the sky as multiple lightning bolts strike the ground beneath a towering, swirling cumulonimbus cloud. The bright flashes reveal layered cloud structures overhead, while distant hills and the lights of a town or industrial area line the horizon below. The foreground is in deep shadow, emphasizing the contrast between the dark landscape and the brilliant lightning.

    Member Profile: Meet Tim Raupach, proud member of the thunderstorm nerd club

    When it comes to making the most of his involvement with 21st Century Weather, self-confessed thunderstorm nerd Dr Tim Raupach is a strict adherent to the three Cs – collaboration, community and Cumulus. An Industry Scientia Senior Lecturer with the Institute for Climate Risk and Response at the University of New South Wales in Sydney,…

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  • White-capped waves roll across a rough ocean beneath a blue sky dotted with scattered clouds. In the distance, several offshore wind turbines are visible on the horizon, illustrating the connection between coastal weather and renewable energy generation.

    Study finds sea breeze could enhance Australia’s future energy grid

    When the temperature climbs into the high thirties, millions of Australians reach for the same switch. Air conditioners hum into life, homes cool down, and electricity demand begins its steady climb towards the evening peak. Keeping enough power flowing on those hot summer afternoons is already one of the biggest challenges facing the electricity grid,…

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  • Colour-shaded map of eastern New South Wales showing modelled near-surface air temperatures. Warm colours (yellow, orange and red) dominate inland areas and the Sydney region, while cooler greens and blues occur along the coast and across the elevated terrain of the Snowy Mountains in the south-west. Weather station locations are marked by labelled circles distributed across the map, with a dense cluster around Sydney. The Tasman Sea appears on the right in pale blue-green shades, and the map focuses solely on the geographic region without axes, title, or legend.

    Slaying the monster of climate change, one reproducible result at a time

    In Greek mythology, Theseus unspooled a ball of string behind himself as he ventured deeper into the dreaded labyrinth of King Minos. After defeating the Minotaur – a terrifying beast that lived within the maze on the island of Crete – the Athenian hero used the string to retrace his steps and escape the labyrinth.…

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  • Close-up view of a surface covered in countless small, translucent ice shards or crystals, creating a textured, frosted pattern in pale blue and gray tones. The image fills the frame with no visible horizon or distinct objects, emphasizing the sparkling, granular texture.

    Hail conditions on the move as winter crops face rising risk

    New research led by UNSW suggests that as the climate warms, the conditions that produce hailstorms are drifting towards the poles, leaving winter crops increasingly exposed. A hailstorm can undo a season’s work in minutes. It can strike quickly and unevenly, shredding wheat, bruising fruit and flattening crops, while leaving neighbouring paddocks untouched. In a…

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  • Bright sun blazing over a hazy city skyline, with orange and red tones suggesting extreme heat and air pollution.

    Deadly heat stress conditions are already occurring

    Deadly heatwave events are occurring at temperatures and humidity levels previously thought to be survivable, according to a new paper led by 21st Century Weather and featuring a team of international researchers. A study by Professor Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick and her collaborators looked at heatwaves that occurred in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) during 2024, Bangkok (Thailand) during…

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