MEDIA ALERT: Southern Storms

01.12.17 By
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INTENSIFYING CLIMATE CHANGE is influencing unprecedented extreme weather, including events unfolding across southeastern Australia, with worsening thunderstorms, severe rainfall and flash flooding expected to continue hitting states across the weekend.

“This is a dangerous and unprecedented extreme weather event, that is tipped to see a series of records smashed, with potentially 300 millimetres of heavy rainfall expected in some areas, leading to flooding events across southern states this weekend alone,” said Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie.

“Climate change is cranking up the intensity of extreme weather events, including the serious amounts of intense rainfall we’re expecting to hit Victoria from today. In fact, some areas are expecting to see more than 50 millimetres of rainfall in just one hour.”

The Climate Council today released an urgent factsheet to highlight the significance of the high-impact extreme weather event, with more than triple the amount of Victoria’s average monthly rainfall expected to fall across the weekend, in what has been labelled by the Bureau of Meteorology as ‘unchartered territory’.

Expert Spokespeople (available across weekend)

Climate Councillor and ecologist, Professor Lesley Hughes

Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie

Climate Council Head of Research, Dr Martin Rice

Climate scientist Dr David Alexander

For more information on extreme weather events and climate change, please visit the Climate Council website or contact Media Advisor Alexia Boland on 043051068.