Climate Extremes Conference

The “Extremes: Climate and Water in the Southern Hemisphere” conference will be held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from February 9 through to February 13. This conference seems extremely timely - given the horrific events of the past week caused by extreme weather - scientists have warned us that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events. These included:

• Record flooding and cyclones in Queensland (e.g. with 60% of the State flooded)

• Record heatwave temperatures across much of Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria (e.g. Melbourne reached 46.4 degrees on Saturday, the highest in 154 years of record-keeping, overshooting the previous high set on Black Friday - January 13, 1939 - by 0.8 degrees). This weather event was described as "like beating Bradman's batting average by 50 runs" said David Jones (who is from the Victorian bureau's National Climate Centre).

• The 2009 heatwave was extreme because of its duration (e.g. Adelaide and Melbourne set records for the most consecutive days above 43 degrees).

• The worst 'natural' disaster in Australia's history - bushfires that have already claimed almost 200 human lives, countless property, habitat and wildlife too.

The 9th International Conference on Southern Hemisphere Meteorology and Oceanography will bring together a number of the world’s leading climate scientists to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges facing the planet, including:.

• Better understanding of droughts and their causes
• Developing improved monthly and seasonal predictions
• Determining the role of atmosphere-ocean interaction in rainfall variability
• Understanding changes in climate extremes in Australia and across the Southern Hemisphere
• Understanding observed changes in Southern Hemisphere storms and rainfall
• Improving techniques for observing the oceans around Australia
• Detecting patterns of change during 450 years of El Niño
• Improving the database of tropical cyclones
• Helping Pacific nations to manage the effects of climate change

.

The conference is coordinated by the American Meteorological Society and the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and will be opened by His Excellency, the Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC.

.

More than 400 science presentations will be made by scientists from 15 countries during the five-day conference. Information about the individual papers and posters to be presented is available. More details are available from the conference web site at:

www.bom.gov.au/events/9icshmo/

.

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

.

**If you enjoyed this post please also check out:
.
New Green Jobs ??
.
Combating Climate Change and Boosting Growth Are Natural Allies
.
Can Sydney adapt to climate change?

.

Splitting: 'jobs' versus 'the environment'
.

Climate Extremes Conference

.