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May 23, 2025 5:54 am
Published by Iain Strachan
Scientists are working to better understand a risk to Antarctica’s future, after finding climate change could significantly alter the ocean current protecting the frozen continent from warmer waters further north. New research published in Geophysical Research Letters predicts the melting of Antarctic ice will alter the Antarctic Slope Current, estimating it will be around 50 per cent faster by 2050. The Antarctic Slope Current flows westward and encircles almost the entire continent, forming a protective barrier between the Antarctic ice... Read More
May 20, 2025 2:56 am
Published by Iain Strachan
Australia’s climate simulator (ACCESS-NRI) has released a fully supported version of a regional climate model that enables researchers to understand high-impact weather events like hurricanes, floods and droughts, which are not captured by the wide-angle lens of global climate models. Regional climate models are game changers when it comes to simulating high-impact weather events, and they’re particularly important for unique landscapes like Australia. While global climate models capture the big picture across the planet, they miss local high-impact weather events... Read More
May 20, 2025 12:54 am
Published by Iain Strachan
A combination of tree cover at street level and rooftop solar panels may be the best approach to combat urban heat in a warming climate, new research has indicated. Scientists from Canada, the United States, Spain and Australia looked at how three cities with different climates – Phoenix, Toronto, and Miami – can deal with more frequent and intense heatwaves this century. The team used advanced computer models to study how well things like street-level trees, cool roofs, green roofs,... Read More
May 5, 2025 11:01 pm
Published by Iain Strachan
The tropics, located near the Equator, are known for their high temperatures and abundant rainfall. However, not all places in the tropics are equal, and one key reason for this is the distribution of water vapour, or humidity, across the globe, writes Monash University PhD student Corey Robinson. In general, air near the surface flows from the ‘dry subtropics’, where rainfall is rare, to the ‘deep tropics’ near the Equator, where heavy rainfall and thunderstorms commonly occur. The boundary between... Read More
April 16, 2025 11:39 pm
Published by Iain Strachan
Global climate models represent our coastal cities as oceans, while regional models fail to represent their true complexity, posing a barrier to future planning and resilience, writes 21st Century Weather Chief Investigator Negin Nazarian. In Australia, 87% of our population lives along the coast, most in cities that drive much of Australia’s economic activity. Understanding the impact of a rapidly warming climate and changing weather on cities is of national importance – and yet, the national datasets and models available... Read More
April 10, 2025 3:22 am
Published by Iain Strachan
Please join us in congratulating 21st Century Weather’s Associate Director Melissa Hart and her collaborators, who have received AU$4.2 million in Wellcome Trust grant funding to research the heat health burden on First Nations communities in under-resourced remote Australia. Led by Associate Professor Supriya Mathew of the Menzies School of Health Research, the funded project will address the lack of evidence on how heat affects First Nations people living in remote Australia. Hot weather-related health impacts remain largely unknown for... Read More
March 27, 2025 11:53 pm
Published by Iain Strachan
Imagine predicting the wind flow around you with precision – perhaps to find a refreshing breeze on a hot day or a sheltered spot when it’s chilly. Until now, such predictions would require solving complex physical models on supercomputers – far too demanding for personal devices like phones, ipads and laptops to handle. Researchers at UNSW in Australia have changed that. The team, based at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes and the ARC Centre of Excellence for... Read More
March 26, 2025 3:37 am
Published by Iain Strachan
In recent years, the world has been grappling with the growing impacts of climate change, from devastating heatwaves to floods and droughts. Behind the scenes, work has been continuing to determine how we can fairly and accurately support affected communities and countries via the mechanisms of Loss & Damage and impact attribution. A significant outcome of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s Conference of Parties (COP) meetings has been the creation of a new fund to support... Read More
February 26, 2025 10:29 pm
Published by Iain Strachan
In this special blog post, read about 21st Century Weather Chief Investigator Negin Nazarian’s inspiring voyage to Antarctica as part the Homeward Bound program. Why was I there? I promised Antarctica reflections and penguin photos, so here we go! First and foremost: why was I there? The answer is to take part in the most unique leadership program there is – one designed by women, for women, with sustainability and the health of our planet at its very core. This... Read More
January 29, 2025 1:29 am
Published by Iain Strachan
New research conducted using machine learning has highlighted the importance of focusing on specific seasons and regions when using major modes of climate variability to predict rainfall. Large-scale modes of climate variability, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), are often identified in advance by major weather organisations around the world. They play an important role in forming seasonal forecasts, and can give an indication of whether we could receive more or less rain... Read More
