Farming has always been a risky business and Australian farmers are pretty good at managing risk in an already difficult climate. But climate change is a whole new ball game, where the past is no longer a good guide to the future. Even a small increase in the average temperature is likely to make a significant impact on production landscapes.
Climate change isn’t affecting everywhere in the same way, however, so it’s best to start with the medium- and long-term climate outlooks for your region. Your state agriculture department, industry body, regional NRM organisation or catchment authority, the CSIRO, and BoM should be able to provide you with a reasonable handle on what’s coming down the pipeline.
Resources
There are some terrific resources available to help you to better understand climate change and its drivers. Here are a few we’ve found useful:
Within Australia
- University research bodies, including ANU’s Climate Change Institute and the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre (PICCC)
- Australian Energy Market Operator
- Clean Energy Regulator
- Climate Council
- Long-range weather and climate resources from the Bureau of Meteorology
- Agriculture Victoria Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey has started a Youtube Channel to wrap up oceanic and atmospheric climate drivers and the summarised model predictions for rainfall and temperature for Victoria and South Australia. Watch Dale’s super speedy summaries here
- The Victorian Government’s Very Fast Break webpage which delivers short and snappy seasonal climate outlooks for South Australia and Victoria
- Media interviews and presentation from Agriculture Victoria Climate Specialist Graeme Anderson
- Media interviews and presentation from Professor Mark Howden, Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute
- Presentation from Lynette Bettio, Bureau of Meteorology
- Australian Academy of Science report: The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers
- Climate change in Australia
- CSIRO climate change information for Australia
- CSIRO climate response blog
Internationally
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- NOAA
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- USGCRP, 2017: Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I
- The Royal Society – Energy, environment and climate
Online tools
There are a number of tools now emerging which can help you to understand the climate you can expect in your region. These include:
- My Climate 2050
- Climate Change in Australia: NRM regions
- Growing Southern Gippsland (project underway)
