AUSTRALIA CLIMATE

Australia has a diverse range of climate zones that vary from tropical regions in the north to temperate regions in the south. There are seasonal fluctuations with temperature ranging from above 50 degree Celsius to below zero degree.

Nearly 80% of Australia has less rainfall, less than 600 millimeters per year and 50% even lesser than 300 millimeters.
As natural cycles in climate there is increasing evidence that humans are also having an influence on the climate through land –used changes and enhanced greenhouse effect.

The summer months are from December to February, autumn months are March to May, winter months are from June to August and spring months are September to November. Australian Christmas takes place at the height of summer.
Australia experiences floods, draughts and bush fires. Some regions also experience storms and tropical cyclones. Since Australia is generally a very dry place, summers can get much hotter. The pattern of rainfall also varies; some places have abundant rain at one time of the year and almost none at other times.

Because Australia is such a large country, its weather varies significantly in different parts of the continent. In the north there are tropical regions with high temperatures and high humidity and wet and dry seasons, in the south are temperate regions with moderate rainfall and temperatures ranging from hot to cold.

The dry season lasts for about six months in summer and spring, between December and March. The ‘build-up’ is the humid time of the year between the wet and dry seasons, which lasts for three or four months. The humidity continues day and night.

Australia is the driest inhabited continent, so water is a very precious resource to Australians. Australia often experiences severe drought. Droughts affect farming practices, agriculture. Threaten the life cycles of plants and animals and increase the chance of dust storms and bush fires, that are large and out of control, and have resulted in loss of many lives and millions of dollars in property damage.