Australia’s 2018 in weather: drought, heat and fire
More rain due to climate change might not mean more water resources
As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. (Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
As the impacts of climate change continued to intensify this year, much of the country experienced record levels of rainfall — so much that 2018 has already been deemed the fifth-wettest year on record in the contiguous United States.
Despite climate change making some places much wetter, however, global water resources are in decline. This is the paradoxical finding of a new study published in the journal Water Resources Research.
As temperatures rise, warmer air is able to hold more moisture, making rainfall more intense in areas such as Washington, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, and Philadelphia…
Australia’s 2018 in weather: drought, heat and fire
Last year was a time of exceptional weather and record-breaking heat according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s annual climate statement, which was released last night.
The Bureau issued four Special Climate Statements relating to “extreme” and “abnormal” heat, and reported a number of broken climate records.
One of the headline stories for the year was drought across eastern Australia — centred on New South Wales, but also affecting Victoria, eastern South Australia and southern Queensland…
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