Australia's Climate is Changing – Let's See How and Why

Many countries are grappling with the climatic shifts that have occurred in the past few decades. Some have been hit so badly that their citizens have had to move to other regions in search of better living conditions. So what is Australia's climate like and how is it changing? Looking at its current situation and what this could spell for future generations.

The Heat Is On - Assessing the Temperature Increases

While Australia boasts different weather patterns in all its regions due to locational differences, it has always been a warm country. But things seem to be taking a turn for the worse, with temperatures soaring in the last few decades. So, how bad is the situation?

While these temperature changes might not seem like much to worry about, later sections will reveal that they have had significant impacts on the country's ecosystem.

Flood Alerts: Why Sea Levels and Marine Ecosystems Are at Risk

Did you know that Australia's sea levels have increased by 3.3 mm per year? This is more than the global average! What's more, some regions along the north have recorded increases of up to 5 mm each year! But why is this happening? As mentioned in the earlier section, warmer weather results in changes in different weather aspects, as follows:

• Expansion of existing water sources: The warmer it becomes, the more the water in the ocean expands.
• Melting ice caps: It's no secret that ice caps have been melting for a long time, and the warm weather isn't doing much to reverse this situation.

Unfortunately, these rising levels have affected marine life in many ways. Consider these changes:

• Loss of natural homes: Increasing levels erode the natural habitats around the shores that sea animals depend on for food, shelter, and breeding, thus threatening their existence.
• Migration of species: The animals that survive the habitat changes move to other areas that better serve their needs, thus leaving Australia with less diversity.

The increasing temperatures have also resulted in coral bleaching, which further reduces the viability of the marine ecosystems as homes for marine species.

When the Weather Turns on People - Extreme Weather Events

Australians cannot deny that climate change is upon them. After all, in the past few decades, they have witnessed these unfortunate incidents:

Black Saturday:

Victoria suffered a great loss in 2009 when increasing temperatures resulted in bushfires that claimed the lives of 173 people. To date, it has been one of the most disastrous events of its kind.

The Angry Summer:

While heatwaves had become common by the second part of the 21st century, nobody expected what would happen in 2012. More than two-thirds of the country was subjected to increased temperatures that sparked bushfires in some regions.

The Black Summer:

A decade after Victoria had suffered a huge loss, fires broke out in 2019, burning over 18 million hectares. They not only displaced people from their homes but also destroyed property and killed billions of animals while displacing billions more. It was devastating.

In addition to these events, the country has suffered a loss of its coral reefs (majorly in 2016, 2017, and 2020), flooding in the low-lying areas (2021 and 2022), and droughts in once highly productive regions (2017, 2018, and 2019).

Dwindling Biodiversity in the Wake of Weather Changes

The ecosystem cannot survive with just humans. It requires other species for it to be optimal. However, recent climate patterns threaten this balance in the following ways:

1. Habitat destruction: Floods, fires, high temperatures, droughts, and other events have affected natural habitats and thus weakened the ability of animals to seek shelter, find food, and even mate. A good example is coral bleaching, which affects marine animals that rely on healthy corals to survive. At the same time, the increased acidification of the ocean kills animals that have calcium carbonate shells or skeletons.
2. Species declines: The extreme weather threatens species that are low in numbers or unequipped to handle these events. As such, some have been declared extinct, and many others are at risk of extinction as they cannot adapt to these conditions. Others have moved to more conducive regions.
3. Ecosystem changes: On one side, having species moving to other areas, introduces competition in new regions, affecting other ecosystems. Moreover, this makes some species more vulnerable to stronger species, increasing the risk of extinction. On the other side, the species that have adapted by changing their breeding and migration have affected their ability to provide for their young.

Climate change is actually killing animals, which also threatens their ability to survive, as it needs them for a fully functional ecosystem.

The Economic Outlook: Is the Future Promising

Climate change is all-encompassing such that it affects several aspects in any country. Consider the very real economic impacts below:

Overall, the country's financial stability is at risk if nothing is done to prevent the climate patterns from getting worse.

Conclusion

The effect of changing weather patterns is evident in Australia, a country grappling with unexpected weather patterns, reduced Biodiversity, droughts and fires, and a hoard of other problems that threaten its financial stability and environmental sustainability, thus necessitating authorities to act before it is too late.