PUBLIC LECTURE: Tropical cyclones, floods, droughts and fires: are these the climate hazards of our future?

The 2011 Gentilli Memorial Lecture will be given by by John McBride, Senior Principal Research Scientist, Bureau of Meteorology, Centre for Atmospheric Weather and Climate Research, Melbourne.

It is often stated that the effect of climate change will be felt through its impact on extreme weather events. Australia has recently experienced a number of major extreme events. These include the 2009 Black Saturday fires in Melbourne, the extended heat-waves of 2009, 2010 and 2011, Tropical Cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods of 2010-2011.

How does the frequency of such major events relate to the changing background climate?

This lecture is presented by the School of Earth and Environment and the Institute of Advanced Studies at UWA and is free and open to the public, no RSVP required.