PUBLIC TALK: Sunburnt Country: The History and Future of Climate Change in Australia

A public lecture by Dr Joëlle Gergis, Lecturer, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of Melbourne.

What was Australia’s climate like before official weather records began? How do scientists use tree-rings, ice cores and tropical corals to retrace the past? What do Indigenous seasonal calendars reveal? And what do settler diary entries about rainfall, droughts, bushfires and snowfalls tell us about natural climate cycles?

In her new book, Sunburnt Country, Dr Joelle Gergis pieces together Australia’s climate history for the first time. She uncovers a continent long vulnerable to climate extremes and variability. She provides an unparalleled perspective on how human activities have altered patterns that have been with us for millions of years, and reveals what climate change looks like in our own backyard. This lecture highlights the impact of a warming planet on Australian lifestyles and ecosystems and the power we all have to shape future life on Earth.