Since January 2013 WATCH has maintained a database of the impacts of extreme weather events (i.e. heatwaves and warmwaves) on crops, livestock, other flora and fauna, human health and infrastructure in Albury-Wodonga and surrounds.

The database is informed by a range of locals including farmers, gardeners, scientists, health practitioners, engineers and other astute observers of the natural and built environment. With each year the number of informants (also referred to as citizen scientists) has grown. In early 2014 it stood at just under fifty and after a concerted push increased to more than a hundred informants later that year.

If you would like to contribute observations during/after the next extreme weather event, please complete the following survey: http://goo.gl/forms/0rBsXyghq8.

Informants should note that all personally identifying information is removed before observations are publicised in any way.

Notes:

• A heatwave is as per Bureau of Meteorology official definition i.e. three days of high maximum and minimum temperatures that is unusual for that location.
• Although climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, we cannot categorically say that any of the extreme weather events listed below was due to climate change.
• Similarly we cannot categorically say that any of the observations recorded on our databases were caused by extreme weather. They were observations made during heatwaves and warmwaves and some may have been caused by other variables.

Archival climate impacts information and media coverage

2019 heatwave

Database of observations 2019 heatwave
Border Mail article, 2 February 2019, Heatwave a killer for trees

2016 heatwaves
Database of observations 2016 heatwaves

2014 warmwave
Database of observations: warmwave2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

Border Mail article 11 June 2014, No plants it is not spring yet

2014 heatwaves
Database of observations: heatwaves2014

Border Mail Country Mail article 29 March 2014, Summer that turned sour
Prime News television coverage 26 March 2014, Heatwave ruins crops

2013 heatwave
Database of observations: heatwave2013

Border Mail article 1 March 2013, These pigs were baking