Climate Change Makes Forecasting Harder, Australia’s Agriculture Minister Says

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Climate change is making it harder to accurately predict extreme weather events, said Australia’s agriculture minister Murray Watt, amid criticism the country’s meteorology department failed to provide timely warnings of this week’s deadly storms.

“Climate change is having an impact,” Watt told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio on Saturday. “The models that we’ve traditionally used are having to change because the climate is changing. That’s something that I know the Bureau is working hard on, but unfortunately, the reality is that climate change means that we are going to be living through more unpredictable weather.”

The weather bureau has received criticism for its failure to notify residents in time about this week’s deadly thunderstorms following the landfall of ex-tropical cyclone Jasper in Queensland.

Watt, who is also the emergency management minister, acknowledged the criticisms the Bureau of Meteorology has received, saying “meteorology is not a perfect science.”

“I’m very open to the view that we can do better with the Bureau of Meteorology and I’m sure that work will go on there,” he said.

⚠️⛈️Severe thunderstorm #warning update: ongoing severe thunderstorms in the south and southeast. Very dangerous thunderstorms with locally destructive winds and giant hail are possible between Injune and Chinchilla. Details and updates: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/v38jz3u4i3
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) Dec. 30, 2023

Earlier this week, storms lashed the nation’s east coast, killing at least nine people. Major thunderstorm warnings remain in place for south-east Queensland, with destructive wind gusts, giant hail and flash flooding predicted. The clean-up from this week’s storm continues with thousands across the region still without power, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Meanwhile, severe heat waves have been predicted for the country’s north-western regions.

Photograph: A downed tree following Cyclone Jasper’s landfall in north Queensland on Dec. 13, 2023. Photo credit: Brian Cassey/AFP/Getty Images