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Displaying 60 of about 407 resultsBy Graham Readfearn
Australia’s rivers are being hit by a “triple whammy” of impacts that will have serious and long-term effects on species and could push some to extinction, according to experts.
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Asked if climate change was playing a role, [Prof Ross Thompson] said: “The combination of drought, increased intensity of fires and extre…
By Adam Morton
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Forest scientists from the University of Melbourne said initial results suggested hazard reduction was best used in a targeted way around assets to help protect them from less intense fires.
It challenges claims by some politicians that state governments should substantially increase hazard reduction, possibly to meet a target of…
By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Lecturer in Architecture, UNSW
Bushfires have killed 33 people and destroyed nearly 3,000 houses across Australia so far this fire season. Canberra is under threat right now.
It isn’t only houses. Significant commercial buildings have been destroyed, among them Kangaroo Island’s iconic Southern Ocean Lodge.
In New S…
New national survey research from The Australia Institute reveals most Australians have been personally impacted by the bushfires and smoke, including millions missing work or suffering health impacts.
Additionally, the research shows concern about the impacts of climate change are especially high among those directly affected by the fires, as is the w…
Dr Jenny Hou, Senior Lecturer in Professional Communication in QUT’s School of Communication and a researcher in the Digital Media Research Centre believes to be truly effective, government agencies at all levels need to seek views and survival stories from the people on the ground.
“Often government communications in relation to disaster ris…
By Ben Butler
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Global accounting firm PwC’s annual survey of CEOs shows bosses are preparing to cut jobs and don’t think Australian business and government is doing enough to deal with global heating – a dismal picture that is set to get worse once the effects of the past month’s deadly bushfires take hold.
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Economists expect the damage to ind…
By Leisa Armstrong
In recent months, food security concerns have emerged for nations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as swarms of desert locusts wreak havoc on crops.
While the same level of damage isn’t currently being felt in Australia, the threat of infestations extends to us too. But drone technology is offering up solution…
By Dianne Cook
As last summer’s horrific bushfires raged, so too did debate about what caused them. Despite the prolonged drought and ever worsening climate change, some people sought to blame the fires largely on arson.
Federal Coalition MPs were among those pushing the arsonist claim. And on Twitter, a fierce hashtag war broke out: “#ClimateEmergenc…
By Nicky Wright, Bethany Ellis, and Nerilie Abram
Weather-wise, 2019 was a crazy way to end a decade. Fires spread through much of southeast Australia, fuelled by dry vegetation from the ongoing drought and fanned by hot, windy fire weather.
On the other side of the Indian Ocean, torrential rainfall and flooding devastated parts of eastern Africa. Com…
By Jonathan Amos, BBC Science Correspondent
Australian scientists are developing a satellite that can better identify where bushfires might start.
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The small spacecraft would carry infrared detectors specifically tuned to the country's dominant vegetation - in particular to its widespread eucalypt trees and shrubs.
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The satellite's data will…
By Martin Freney, Lecturer in Industrial and Sustainable Design, University of South Australia
Recent disastrous bushfires have rebooted debate about how to (re)build in the Australian bush. Questions are being asked about building standards, whether a fire-proof home is possible, the value of fire bunkers when it’s too la…
By Antony Funnell
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But [Cardiff University's Mark Cuthbert] and other water scientists warn there's an urgent need for more sophisticated and coordinated management of [Australia's] water resources, both below and above ground.
One solution could be a little known, but already proven technique — "water banking".
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Wate…
New research from the Australia Institute Climate & Energy Program shows that the Australian Summer is getting longer and Winter is getting shorter, due to global warming.
The Australia Institute analysis uses Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) data to track changes in daily temperatures that mark the beginning of each season over the sub-tropical and tem…
By Emily Cadman
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Banks will have to undertake stress tests to measure their resilience to a broad range of scenarios, including “climate change financial risks,” the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said in a statement Friday.
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Regulators around the world are starting to push banks and insurers to quantify their exposure to climate c…
Patricia and Norman Frank say extreme heat is changing the daily lives of people who have lived on the land for generations. The siblings are traditional owners from Tennant Creek in the heart of the Northern Territory outback.
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Plants that were traditionally used for food either no longer grow, or grow poorly. “Animals are hibernating and aren’t c…