Why is it so cold right now? And how long will it last? A climate scientist explains.

Anyone living in the southeast of Australia will have noticed the chill that set in during Winter. So why is it so cold? And how long is the chill going to last?

King, A. (2022, May 31). Why is it so cold right now? And how long will it last? A climate scientist explains. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-is-it-so-cold-right-now-and-how-long-will-it-last-a-climate-scientist-explains-184155

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The First Fleet and Australia's unforgiving weather published in Pursuit by the University of Melbourne.

Passengers onboard the First Fleet received a harsh introduction to their new home’s climate before they even landed. Their diaries and letters reveal just how hard it was.

Gergis, D. J., & University of Melbourne\u003cbr\u003e. (2022, September 15). The first fleet and Australia’s unforgiving weather. Pursuit. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/the-first-fleet-and-australia-s-unforgiving-weather

Primary data tables

Source 1. The journal of William Bradley onboard the HMS Sirius 

26 Jan 1788 - 1 Oct 1788

Source 2. The meteorological journal of William Dawes

14 Sept 1788 - 6 Dec 1791

 and another 37 primary source journals dating to 1858

Bureau (2014). Early data. [online] Bom.gov.au. Available at: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/early-data/ [Accessed 9 Feb. 2023].

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. (n.d.). Notes from the field: Jonathan Palmer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0TnAvpFdW0&t=8s

CABAH and University of Wollongong students learning about collecting and analysing lake sediment cores, which can be used to provide a window back thousands of years to help reconstruct past climates and landscapes.

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. (2020, February 19). Learning about collecting and analysing lake sediment cores, thirlmere lakes [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eEmMLFpkpZI

Climate change in Australia (CSIRO) Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. (2020, December 24). 

Information about Australia's past, current and future climate helps industries, governments and communities plan for and adapt to a variable and changing climate.

Climate change in Australia. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australian Government - CSIRO. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.csiro.au/en/research/environmental-impacts/climate-change/climate-change-information

You may be interested in reading about 10 major threats to Aboriginal land: climate

Korff, J. (2022, January 23). 10 major threats to Aboriginal land. Creative Spirits. https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/threats-to-aboriginal-land#threat-climate-change

The Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) works in partnership with custodians of traditional knowledge in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to tell the human and environmental history of Australia. Their website offers a variety of content about the past, present and future of Australia’s climate and landscape.

"By looking at so-called ‘natural archives —  preserved in lakes, peats, ocean sediments and trees — we are investigating the magnitude, timing and mechanisms of abrupt and extreme change, and providing a context to Australia’s rich ecological and archaeological record."

Climate. (2022). The Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. https://epicaustralia.org.au/theme/climate

Rethinking Australia's climate history presents researchers' findings of evidence of climate change that coincided with the first wave of European settlement of Australia, which effectively delivered a double-punch of drying and land clearance to the country.

“Settlements like Farina in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges are believed to have failed due to settlers not having a full comprehension of climate variability. While that may be true, the drying of the climate might provide a better explanation,” says Associate Professor Tibby.

This article is a summary of findings in this research.

Rethinking Australia's climate history. (2018). The University of Adelaide. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news103762.html