Weather disasters - managing risk

Australia is a country renowned for its unpredictable climate. These erratic weather patterns have directly contributed to Australia being recognised as having the most variable rainfall of any country in the world. At its worst Australia’s extreme climate has the capacity to manifest as severe weather events.

Please join Dr Geoff Love, the Director of Weather and Disaster Risk Reduction Services at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) based in Geneva, as he analyses the current round of Australian natural disasters, highlighting the risk reduction methods to be implemented at the individual, local government and state/national authority level. Dr Love will also touch on the issue of climate change and place his findings in an international context.

Dr Love will define the frequently used terms associated with climate change, examine Australia’s change in rainfall variability over the last century and discuss how extreme weather patterns affect every day Australians. Given drought affects more people in Australia than any other climate extreme Dr Love will highlight the threat complacency poses during dry spells as more people choose to settle in flood plains. Dr Love will examine the impact increasing population/agriculture are having on the demand for water and discuss the importance of using meteorological statistics to create a framework to supply climate services with the resources needed for disaster risk reduction.