Australian Weather
Weather is the rain, temperature, humidity, wind, etc. at the present moment. Australia experiences a variety of weather, and in the long term, this averages out to make the climate, which is epxlained below.
Australian Climate and Weather Patterns
Each part of Australia has a different climate. There are six different kinds of climates (as shown in the image above).
The Northern-most parts of Queensland fall under the category of equatorial. It is always humid, and also very sticky.
The tropical parts of Australia (Northern Kimberly, Darwin and North Queensland) have similar conditions to the equatorial region, but have heavy seasonal rain, especially during summer, due to the sub-tropical high pressure belt that moves north and south with the seasons, which means that the whole countries rain is extremely seasonal.
Sub-tropical zones (Queensland south coast, Brisbane and South west region, including Perth) have moderate to high temperatures and high annual rainfall, but are generally not as humid as tropical climates.
Desert zones are the hottest and driest parts of the country. It is one of the largest climates in Australia, covering half of Western Australia, two thirds of South Australia, as well as parts of North west New South Wales, South west Queensland, and areas of the south in the Northern Territory.
Grassland areas of Australia are generally found in wide flat areas around desert regions. These are wide, vast plains of wheat and grass in mainly unpopulated areas.
The final climate is temperate. Only the South East and a minute portion of the south west are classified as temperate. These areas have a moderate annual rainfall, as well as fairly fertile soil. Unsurprisingly, around half of the country’s population live in this area due to its climate.
The Northern-most parts of Queensland fall under the category of equatorial. It is always humid, and also very sticky.
The tropical parts of Australia (Northern Kimberly, Darwin and North Queensland) have similar conditions to the equatorial region, but have heavy seasonal rain, especially during summer, due to the sub-tropical high pressure belt that moves north and south with the seasons, which means that the whole countries rain is extremely seasonal.
Sub-tropical zones (Queensland south coast, Brisbane and South west region, including Perth) have moderate to high temperatures and high annual rainfall, but are generally not as humid as tropical climates.
Desert zones are the hottest and driest parts of the country. It is one of the largest climates in Australia, covering half of Western Australia, two thirds of South Australia, as well as parts of North west New South Wales, South west Queensland, and areas of the south in the Northern Territory.
Grassland areas of Australia are generally found in wide flat areas around desert regions. These are wide, vast plains of wheat and grass in mainly unpopulated areas.
The final climate is temperate. Only the South East and a minute portion of the south west are classified as temperate. These areas have a moderate annual rainfall, as well as fairly fertile soil. Unsurprisingly, around half of the country’s population live in this area due to its climate.
Australian Weather
Darwin
Australian Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters come in many different forms in Australia. Bushfires are often started during long hot summers, especially on dry windy days. These mainly occur in the southern half of the country, where bushland is dense and easy to burn. In the lower northern part of the country, there is not as much bushland or vegetation, but grass fires are often created because of the blazing temperatures.
Major floods mostly occur in the low-lying areas of the country, e.g. the coastal districts or flat regions with nowhere for the water to escape. The best, and most recent example of these are the 2011 and 2013 summer floods in Brisbane and surrounding areas. In the 2011 floods, some flooded rivers peeked at 20 metres deep. Lives were lost and the damage bill was in the billions. While the 2013 floods were nowhere near as high, and may not seem to be as significant, people were still killed, businesses were still destroyed and the damage bill once again reached a 10 or 11 digit figure.
Cyclones, while also a natural disaster in itself, are a major contributor to flooding, especially on the Queensland coast. Bringing up to 400 millimetres of rain to some towns, along with winds of up to 150kmm/h, it is one of the most dangerous occurrences in Australia. Cyclones also appear in the Indian ocean and impact the northern Western Australian coast. While flooding may not be as much of an issue here, the force is often stronger, making outside conditions close to deadly anyway.
Earthquakes in Australia are not as common as these other natural disasters, and not as severe.
Here is an image showing all recorded earthquakes in Australia and neighbouring areas up to 2011.
We see that, while there is still a fair amount around, very few major earthquakes occur in heavily populated areas. It is also apparent that there is a fault line to the north of the Western Australian coast, in the Indonesian islands, where earthquakes are a regular occurrence.
Major floods mostly occur in the low-lying areas of the country, e.g. the coastal districts or flat regions with nowhere for the water to escape. The best, and most recent example of these are the 2011 and 2013 summer floods in Brisbane and surrounding areas. In the 2011 floods, some flooded rivers peeked at 20 metres deep. Lives were lost and the damage bill was in the billions. While the 2013 floods were nowhere near as high, and may not seem to be as significant, people were still killed, businesses were still destroyed and the damage bill once again reached a 10 or 11 digit figure.
Cyclones, while also a natural disaster in itself, are a major contributor to flooding, especially on the Queensland coast. Bringing up to 400 millimetres of rain to some towns, along with winds of up to 150kmm/h, it is one of the most dangerous occurrences in Australia. Cyclones also appear in the Indian ocean and impact the northern Western Australian coast. While flooding may not be as much of an issue here, the force is often stronger, making outside conditions close to deadly anyway.
Earthquakes in Australia are not as common as these other natural disasters, and not as severe.
Here is an image showing all recorded earthquakes in Australia and neighbouring areas up to 2011.
We see that, while there is still a fair amount around, very few major earthquakes occur in heavily populated areas. It is also apparent that there is a fault line to the north of the Western Australian coast, in the Indonesian islands, where earthquakes are a regular occurrence.