❓ A parliamentary question regarding a record temperature in Fitzroy Crossing and its potential link to climate change. The Minister's response explains the difference between weather and climate, and the difficulty in attributing single events to climate change.
AnsweredQoN 589Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the article entitled, "Fitzroy Crossing breaks its temperature record", on page 2 of the Kimberley Echo , Thursday, 7 November 2013, and ask: (a) does the Minister or his department/s conclude that this record was the result of global Climate Change impacts; and (b) if no to (a), what does the Minister conclude that this temperature record was the result of?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
3 December 2013
Responded by
Minister for Mental Health representing the Minister for Environment
Response time
14 days
The Minister for Environment provides the following response.
(a)-(b)
Weather and climate refer to different aspects of meteorology. Weather is the brief, rapidly changing condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time while climate describes the average weather over at least 30 years. Western Australia's climate demonstrates natural variability.
Climate change refers to any long-term trends or shifts in climate over many decades. Neither a single extreme event or a single warmer or cooler month, year or decade on its own is sufficient evidence to assert climate change is or is not occurring, but statistically significant changes in average conditions over many decades do provide evidence of a changing climate.
Climate change is superimposed on natural climate variability, leading to a change in the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme events. While no individual records can be attributed to climate change, it has been predicted that there will be a greater frequency, intensity and duration of extreme events such as heatwaves as a result of climate change.
(a)-(b)
Weather and climate refer to different aspects of meteorology. Weather is the brief, rapidly changing condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time while climate describes the average weather over at least 30 years. Western Australia's climate demonstrates natural variability.
Climate change refers to any long-term trends or shifts in climate over many decades. Neither a single extreme event or a single warmer or cooler month, year or decade on its own is sufficient evidence to assert climate change is or is not occurring, but statistically significant changes in average conditions over many decades do provide evidence of a changing climate.
Climate change is superimposed on natural climate variability, leading to a change in the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme events. While no individual records can be attributed to climate change, it has been predicted that there will be a greater frequency, intensity and duration of extreme events such as heatwaves as a result of climate change.
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