CATEGORIES:
BiologyChemistryConstructionCultureEcologyEconomyElectronicsFinanceGeographyHistoryInformaticsLawMathematicsMechanicsMedicineOtherPedagogyPhilosophyPhysicsPolicyPsychologySociologySportTourism
Cyclones, Snow and FloodsThe tropics are affected by the extremes of cyclones in the wet season and the inland deserts can remain totally dry for years whilst rains can produce floods. The wettest months in the southern capitals are from May to July. Along the Great Dividing Range17 the mountain range that passes through New South Wales and Victoria, there are regular winter snowfalls18. The snow season in the Alps in south-eastern Australia19 is from June to September. The tradition of observational practice20 and high quality records have contributed to the vast amount of data now held and shared by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Based on over 200 years of data, the Bureau has observed that Australia's climate is changing21, and observes the following trends: - Since 1900, there have been many disastrous floods, with 2011, the year of the Queensland, Brisbane and Victorian floods, recorded as the second wettest year on record - Overall, rainfall patterns have also changed – the northwest has seen an increase in rainfall over the last 50 years while much of eastern Australia and the far southwest have experienced a decline.
Cyclone Yassi hits Townsville, 2011, Climate Commission Cyclones23 are a tropical weather phenomenon. They are usually encountered in Australia between November and April, and they mostly take place in the north of the country. The Western Australian and Northern Territory coasts, as well as the Queensland coast, are the usual places where the cyclones occur. About six cyclones happen in Australia every year. By far the most famous cyclone in Australia is Cyclone Tracy24, which hit Darwin in the Northern Territory on Christmas Eve 1974. Forty-nine people died as a result, and over 600 people were injured. Darwin had to be evacuated because over eighty per cent of the city was destroyed. But Tracy is not the worst cyclone that has ever visited Australia. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina killed over 400 people when it destroyed an entire pearl-fishing fleet at Bathurst Bay in Queensland. The dry regions
Trees shaped by the weather along a track near Margaret River crossing, The driest regions of Australia are found mostly in central Australia, in the arid and semi-arid desert regions with high daytime temperatures and low amounts of rain. The dry desert regions of Australia are characterized by intense heat during the day and intense cold at night. Temperatures range from around 40 degrees Celsius in summer to between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius in winter. At night the temperature can vary from 19 degrees Celsius to zero degrees Celsius. Desert conditions are different from drought26. A drought is an unusually long period of time when there is not enough water for people to use in the way they normally would. There have been many serious droughts in Australia in the last 200 years. The 189527–281903 drought29 lasted eight years and caused the death of half of Australia's sheep and forty per cent of its cattle. The 1963–68 drought caused a forty per cent reduction in wheat crops across Australia. In central Australia that same drought actually lasted eight years, from 1958 to 1967. Predicting climate and weather patterns Climate predictions and long range weather forecasting have improved the ability and capacity to respond to natural disasters in Australia: 30droughts, bushfires, cyclones, floods and severe storms experienced in Australia. Today, weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual updates on the national, territory and climatic zones are provided with data presented as trends since 1900.
Storm cloud near Millthorpe. The ability to provide accurate forecasts and warnings for rainfall, floods and tropical cyclones has helped to mitigate and lessen the loss of lives in natural disasters. This was seen in the response to Cyclone Yasi in 2011, very different to the response to Cyclone Larry in 2009 and Cyclone Tracy in 1974, where forty-nine people died, and over 600 people were injured. El Niño-Southern Oscillation index The great Australian droughts of the twentieth century have mostly been closely linked with the major swings in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) with droughts in eastern Australia coinciding with the El Niño (warm central and eastern Pacific Ocean) phase of the El Niño-La Niña cycle. TASKS I. Read the text. Find the words that match the definitions below: 1) the amount of rain that falls on an area in a particular period of time; 2) an area of land that is far from the coast, large rivers, or the places where people live; 3)a large, flat area of land covered with grass, usually with few trees, that is found in hot countries, especially in Africa; 4) the amount of water contained in the air; 5)the season, from about April to October, when it rains a lot in India and other southern Asian countries; 6) to feel extremely hot and uncomfortable; 7) the number of times that something happens within a particular period of time or within a particular group of people; 8) an occasion when snow falls from the sky, or the amount that falls in a particular period of time; 9) a decrease in the quality, quantity, or importance of something; 10) causing great harm, damage, or suffering; 11) the land next to or close to the sea; 12) a violent and often destructive storm in which the wind moves very fast in a circular direction; 13) a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry; 14) a statement of what is likely to happen in the future; 15) a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live. Date: 2016-03-03; view: 1001
|
