News

  • Three people sit around a small table recording a podcast, each holding a handheld microphone. A man on the left in a black sweater looks toward a woman in the middle, who wears a pink patterned blouse and faces slightly toward an older man on the right in a bright pink shirt. Laptops, cables, drinks, and audio equipment are spread across the table, while a camera in the foreground captures the scene.

    Public survey: Share your thoughts and you could win free merchandise

    Help to shape how we share our weather and climate research At 21st Century Weather, we’re always looking for ways to make our research more accessible, relevant and engaging. We’re inviting you to take part in a short audience survey to help us understand how people interact with our content, and how we can improve.

    Read more

  • 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

    Read more

  • A massive hurricane seen from space, with a well‑defined eye at the center and thick spiral bands of clouds stretching outward. The curvature of Earth is visible along the horizon, fading into the darkness of space above

    Changes to the Arctic and Antarctica will mean fewer short storms, but longer extremes

    A giant rotating tank of water in a laboratory in Canberra is an alternative to supercomputers for the scientists trying to predict the impacts of climate change – and the results are a mix of good and bad news for Australia.  A key challenge facing the world’s researchers is understanding the role of polar amplification

    Read more

  • A misty coastal landscape with a sandy, seaweed‑covered shoreline in the foreground, shallow water and scattered rocks in the middle ground, and tree‑covered hills fading into fog beneath an overcast sky

    Eastern and western Tasmania rely on different weather systems for rainfall, new study shows

    Tasmania’s rainfall is driven by a diverse range of weather systems, with new research revealing how these systems shape seasonal variability across the state. The findings come from a study led by 21st Century Weather researchers based at the University of Tasmania, which examined the contributions of different weather systems to Tasmania’s rainfall. The study

    Read more

  • Rows of solar panels stretch across a field at sunrise, with warm orange light illuminating misty trees in the background.

    Southeast Australia at greatest risk of ‘solar droughts’, but extreme events are rare

    Analysis of high-resolution satellite data shows that southeastern Australia is at greatest risk of ‘solar droughts’ due to extended periods of low sunlight, while inland regions are least likely to experience persistent cloud cover. The proportion of Australia’s total electricity generated by solar panels has been rapidly growing in recent years, and will increase further

    Read more