Tim Flannery has an article in the Sydney Morning Herald [Reg Req] blaming Sydney's water crisis on climate change - and on climate change which has already happened. According to Flannery, Earth's climate has changed twice since 1976, and each time Australia has become drier. The small rise in temperature over the last century combined with ozone depletion (which cools the stratosphere and affects weather patterns) has resulted in generally lower winter rainfall, but more importantly, there has been a rise in the frequency and severity of the el Nino weather pattern, which causes droughts in Australia. Sydney will apparantly face a serious water crisis in three years just from these effects alone, but what's worrying is that all are likely to grow more serious as the planet warms. Which means that in the long run, Sydney is either going to have to install desalination plants, or dry up and blow away.
It's rather sobering to think that climate change could already be having this sort of effect, and on somewhere so close to home.
It's an interesting contrast, the projected effects of climate change on New Zealand and Australia. From my research for this story:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.listener.co.nz/default,3010.sm
I concluded while Australia was going to be shafted (droughts on the South-East and -West coasts), New Zealand will fare reasonably well - at least in the short-term.
How Australia deals with water shortages (Perth in particular) will be one of their great strategic challenges of the 21st century. Dare I say it, a bigger one than that posed Islamic militants, and certainly effecting more individual Ozzies.
I just looked up the rainfall figures - Sydney gets more rain than either London or Auckland. (Guess which is the driest!)
ReplyDeleteI suspect their problem is that they get their rain in downpours, most of which run down storm drains into the ocean - combined with the fact that building dams hasn't kept pace with the expansion of the city.
Global warming has good and bad effects.
ReplyDeleteTechnically global warming could be quite fantastic for the NZ economy it will make the south island bareable in the winter and the far north plesantly tropical. We will make an excellent all year round vacation spot.
Major powers like China and Russia may also benefit generally speaking. with large areas of land getting a bit warmer and more fertile.
Sure australia and the USA might suffer but I dont see them complaining now.
wow.... thats so stupid im just blown away
ReplyDelete"global warming could be quite fantastic"? go give yourself a couple of uppercuts son
wow.... thats so stupid im just blown away
ReplyDelete"global warming could be quite fantastic"? go give yourself a couple of uppercuts son