Australia State of the climate 2024

The biennial State of the Climate Report draws on the latest national and international climate research, monitoring, science and projection information to describe changes and long-term trends in Australia’s climate. It is intended to inform economic, environmental and social decision-making by governments, industries and communities. Observations, reconstructions of past climate and climate modelling continue to provide a consistent picture of ongoing, long‑term climate change interacting with underlying natural variability. Associated changes in weather and climate extremes— such as extreme heat, heavy rainfall, coastal inundation, fire weather and drought—exacerbate existing pressures on the health and wellbeing of our communities and ecosystems.

These changes in the weather and climate are happening at an increasing pace; the past decade has seen record-breaking extremes contributing to natural disasters that are exacerbated by anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change, including ‘compound events’, where multiple hazards and/or drivers occur together or in a close sequence, which intensifies their impacts. These changes have a growing effect on the lives and livelihoods of all Australians. Australia must plan for, and adapt to, the changing nature of climate risk now and in the decades ahead. The severity of impacts on Australians and our environment will depend on the speed at which global greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced.