Antinuclear

What’s Australia’s water security under future climate?

The role of water in Australia’s uncertain future, The Conversation  Amgad Elmahdi  Manager Water Resources Assessment Section at Australian Bureau of Meteorology Matthew Hardy Manager, Urban Water at Australian Bureau of Meteorology August 3, 2015   “…….Water security is threatened by a number of factors. These include climate change, rainfall variability, population growth, economic development, and drought.

For instance, across southern Australia climate change is projected to decrease winter and spring rainfall by up to 15% by 2030 regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

Rainfall declines are amplified in reduced streamflow and in turn the water in storages. Southwestern Australia has seen streamflow declines of 50% since 1970, while streamflow during the Millennium Drought (1996-2010) in southeastern Australia was half of the long-term average………

Australia also has naturally highly variable rainfall influenced by events such as El Niño and La Niña. An El Niño was declared in May 2015.

The El Niño’s likely impact will be drier and warmer conditions across inland eastern Australia. Importantly the strength of an El Niño does not always indicate how severely Australia may be affected.

These dryer conditions, should they arise, will place increased pressure on the water supply of effected regions. In particular, increased water demands and reduced stream flows will see declining surface water storage volumes. This could mean we need to develop and use more climate resilient sources………https://theconversation.com/the-role-of-water-in-australias-uncertain-future-45366

August 3, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, South Australia