Melbourne’s shrinking winter, expanding summer
April 3, 2021 at 12:35 am John Englart 2 comments
Change in the season length with rising temperatures for Melbourne. Source: Australia Institute
The Australia Institute have researched the change in the season length for capital city and regional towns due to the rise in temperatures from Climate Change. Our winter seasons are shrinking, summer seasons are lengthening.
“Across the country, all seasons are now hotter, with increases in average and extreme temperatures, particularly in summer. Over the last two decades, summer was on average one month longer than it was half a century before. Temperatures that marked the start of summer now come around two weeks earlier; temperatures that marked the end of summer now come around two weeks later. Spring and autumn have shifted and winter is now more than three weeks shorter. In every capital city, summers have grown longer and winters have grown shorter. “
Change in the season length with rising temperatures for Melbourne. Source: Australia Institute
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“The continuing changes in seasons will have increasingly profound implications for life in Australia. Longer hotter summers mean longer hotter fires seasons, more heatwaves and greater exposure to heat related illnesses. People working outdoors or in un-airconditioned spaces will be particularly at risk. Outdoor activities that we take for granted such as socialising and playing sport will become less enjoyable and more dangerous. Agricultural crops will be damaged and livestock will suffer. Entire ecosystems are at risk.”
“These trends are likely to continue indefinitely unless greenhouse gas emissions are
decisively reduced, ultimately to net-zero.”
“Last year heatwaves disrupted prominent sporting events including the Tour Down Under and the Australian Open.”
“However, it is not only elite sport that will be disrupted, but the myriad of sporting events and outdoor activities that are an essential part of children’s physical education and community life.”
Reference:
The Australia Institue (March 2020) , Out of Season. Expanding summers and shrinking winters in subtropical and temperate Australia https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/P834-Out-of-Season-WEB.pdf
Entry filed under: climate change info, news, Uncategorized. Tags: climatology, heat, Melbourne, seasons, summer.
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