Australian farmers to benefit from new extreme climate outlooks released by the Bureau of Meteorology
04 November 2021
Growers and graziers will benefit from new extreme climate outlook maps made available by the Bureau of Meteorology yesterday.
These new features will be added to the Bureau's climate outlook service. They draw on the latest science and technology to deliver maps that respond to the growing need for information around unseasonal and extreme climate events to build climate resilience and support better-informed decision making.
Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Dr Andrew Watkins said this was the first-time people have been able to drill down to their local area to see the Chance of unseasonal and extreme temperature and rainfall.
"The user-friendly model shows the likelihood of unusually warm or cool temperatures and dry or wet conditions for the weeks, months, or even seasons ahead for specific, highly localised areas," he said.
"The outlooks draw on the Bureau's upgraded climate model.
"We have recognised the growing need for information about unseasonal and extreme climate events and answered with these new features now publicly and freely available on the Bureau's website."
Dr Watkins said the maps have been tried and tested with farmers across Australia, who have found them helpful for anticipating extremely warm, cool, dry or wet conditions.
"We've heard from farmers saying the outlook maps have helped them plan when to sow pastures, move stock and apply fertiliser, because they've been able to make that decision informed by the likelihood of rain," he said.
"We want to be there when it matters most, whether that's your short-term forecast, or climate extremes."
These new tools are part of the Forewarned is Forearmed project, a partnership of government, research and industry sectors funded through the Australian Government's Rural R&D For Profit Program.
View the new outlooks and features on the Bureau's website here: www.bom.gov.au/climate/outlooks. Click on the 'Chance of extremes' button on the left-hand side to sample the new outlooks.
