Saturday, February 5, 2011

Coincidence or climate change?

The fact that the two biggest natural disasters on record to hit Queensland have occurred within three weeks of each other is not a coincidence. It is a direct result of the Pacific Ocean being warmer than we've ever known it to be.

"While the flooding events and cyclones experienced this year aren't caused by climate change, the record warm ocean temperatures provide conditions more conducive to exacerbating these naturally occurring events associated with La Nina," Dr Ash explained.


ABC The Drum has a interesting piece by freelance journo Matt Granfield on the relationship between climate change, La Nina and the extreme weather events here in QLD this summer.

The nub of it is that, as Matt writes,

"Climate change is not the reason for the disasters, but according to the people in charge of providing solutions in Australia, climate change caused by human activities has made the floodwaters higher and the cyclones bigger and more powerful than they otherwise would have been."


Entire article can be found here.

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