Graph reveals Australia’s scary weather trend
The Bureau of Meteorology has finally released its long-delayed report on Australia’s weather, revealing a worrying trend.
Environment
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The year 2021 was the coolest in Australia for nearly a decade, but still warmer than the historical average, the Bureau of Meteorology’s annual climate statement has revealed.
The report is usually issued in January, but this year the Bureau announced it would be released in February, without giving a specific date.
The delay raised eyebrows among climate scientists and environmental groups, who were unsure why the 2021 statement seemed to take longer to prepare than in previous years.
When asked the reason for the delay, a Bureau spokesperson said: “There is a huge amount of data to analyse, and that takes time”.
The statement was quietly published online last week, where it received little media attention.
An online briefing about the statement that took place on Tuesday was also beset by technical difficulties, with media unable to access via web or phone.
The statement revealed 2021 was Australia’s coolest year since 2012, but also our nineteenth-warmest year on record.
It was also one of our wettest in recent years, with above-average rainfall in eastern Victoria, much of New South Wales and southern and central west Queensland, among other regions.
November 2021 was Australia’s wettest November on record, and the coolest since 1999. National rainfall totals for the month were well over double the November average.
The country as a whole received nine per cent more rainfall in 2021 than the 1961-1990 average.
It was also our warmest La Nina year on record, a climatic condition usually associated with cooler and wetter weather conditions.
La Nina was a feature throughout the 2020-21 summer, the Bureau said in its statement. It then faded during March, only to perform a rare trick, reappearing in November.
In a separate climate driver update released today, the Bureau said the La Nina effect had peaked, but its effects would persist until mid Autumn.
Nationally, 2021 was 0.56°C above the 1961–1990 average, and most capital cities had mean maximum and minimum temperatures which were within half a degree of their average.
In January the World Meteorological Association said 2021 was officially the seventh warmest year ever, while NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said it was the equal sixth warmest year on record.
Australia was the only continent in 2021 not to have a year inside its top ten hottest ever, the NASA/NOAA report revealed.
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