Atmosphere

Climate Change

Climate change confronts humanity with the possibility of catastrophic change to life on earth. Victoria’s climate has a high natural variability but the changes recorded since the 1950s are beyond historic variations. Victoria has warmed at a faster rate than the Australian average; the last ten years have been hotter than average; and rainfall over the last ten years has been dramatically lower than average, leading to serious deficiencies in water storages.

This section provides some information on climate change at a global scale, including the international responses. Indicators of Victoria’s climate are presented showing temperature trends, rainfall, sea levels and wind speed. This information is also presented for regional Victoria. Trends in emissions of greenhouse gases are presented here but are more fully interpreted in the Energy section of Part 3. The breadth of implications of climate change for Victoria’s environment and society are considered. Local and global responses to climate change are described and recommendations for Victoria are provided.

Part 4.1.1 Climate Change (PDF - 1.8 MB)