The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is undertaking a Climate Change Research Program to improve the MDBA’s capacity to respond to climate risk. This will entail an updated assessment of climate change impacts on Basin water management, identifying adaptation opportunities, and determining how best to direct future resources and investment via a 5-year climate change research program to inform the Basin Plan review in 2026.
The Bureau of Meteorology was asked by the MDBA to support this program by providing an updated assessment of climate and hydrological conditions across the northern and southern Basins.
The Bureau of Meteorology maintains observational records of temperature, rainfall amounts, streamflow in rivers and groundwater extending back many decades. These observational records are complemented by modelled estimates of land surface conditions across the Basin in areas where no direct observations exist. Assessment of these observational records and of the modelled output by scientists identifies trends which are important considerations for the future management of water resources across the Basin.
This report represents a synthesis of the current available information relating to observed trends and historical conditions across the Murray-Darling Basin. Trends reported in this report represent natural – or unmanaged – conditions arising from changes in the climate system. It is important to note that in many catchments which make up the Murray-Darling Basin human intervention in the form of irrigation, regulation and river management may have a greater influence on changes in streamflow patterns and trends beyond changes in rainfall.
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Trends and historical conditions in the Murray–Darling Basin
This report describes the climatic and hydrological trends in the Murray–Darling Basin over recent years. Since the late 1990s rainfall and stream flow has decreased, especially during the winter/spring months in the Southern Basin. The report was commissioned by the MDBA and completed by the Bureau of Meteorology. |
14 Dec 2020 |
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1.69 MB | |
Published date: 16 January 2020