SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australia’s most productive agricultural areas face a greater risk of extreme weather from climate change in coming decades, including a higher number of droughts, says a new report.
The report from the country’s Climate Commission said extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods, bush fires and cyclones are already becoming more intense, highlighting the need to take rapid action on climate change and mitigate the impact.
“There is little doubt that over the next few decades, changes in these extreme events will increase the risks of adverse consequences to human health, agriculture, infrastructure and the environment,” it said.
Read Also
Alberta eases water access for riparian restoration
Alberta government removes requirement for temporary diversion licence to water plants up to 100 cubic metres per day for smaller riparian restoration projects
All the climate models used in the report projected a significant in-crease in the number of droughts across southwestern and southeastern Australia. These regions are important agricultural areas and include coastal strips that are home to most of the country’s nearly 23 million people.
The commission projected a fall in rainfall across the two regions of up to 10 percent by 2030.
Australia is a major supplier of food to Asian markets and is the world’s second-largest exporter of wheat and third-largest shipper of raw sugar and beef.
It produced 22 million tonnes of wheat in the latest season, down more than a quarter from the previous year’s record harvest. Yields suffered from unseasonably dry weather in Western Australia, the country’s largest grain producing state.
Flooding is also forecast to increase because of warmer temperatures, while heavy rainfall associated with cyclones was also expected to be more severe.
