Author: Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

Extreme temperature and rainfall events are increasing around the world, including Australia. What makes them extreme is their rarity and severity compared to the typical climate. A region’s “climate” is defined by a 30-year average of mainly rainfall and temperature. Increasingly, these climate definitions have become less appropriate – we need to look at events over shorter time periods to gain a more accurate picture. We can see this in the recent worldwide proliferation of extreme flooding and prolonged heatwaves. Using southern Australia as a prime example, our newly published research in Academia Environmental Sciences and Sustainability shows that machine…