Climate Change
Greenhouse gases can remain active in the atmosphere for up to 100 years or more.
For this reason, advice from the Bureau of Meteorology is that we are already 'committed' to a certain amount of warming until around 2030. This warming is due to the gases that we have already released into the atmosphere.
Predicted changes by 2030
Annual temperature
0.9 degree increase
Number of days over 35oC (currently 17)
23 days
Rainfall %
4% decrease
Potential evaporation %
2% increase
Wind speed
No change
Relative humidity
-0.7%
Solar radiation %
+0.4%
Source: IPCC Climate Change in Australia: Technical Report, 2007
Current observations suggest that the climate is, in reality, changing even more rapidly than these models predict.
What happens from 2030 onwards depends on the choices we make now.
The City of Charles Sturt is tackling Climate Change by:
- Developing our climate change strategy - to be released soon for public comment
- Educating our community about climate change and what to do
- Reducing our energy consumption - from our buildings, fleet and public lighting
