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High-resolution climate modelling enhances climate response

Our climate modelling system generates future climate change projections at the regional scale and is now being used by partners across Australia.

Australia’s landscape is vast. We need accurate climate change projections to help us prepare effectively for the future. Global models exist, but their coarse resolution and global scale limit their ability to simulate climate change at a regional scale.

Our scientists have developed the NSW and Australian Regional Climate Modelling system (NARCliM) to provide a more accurate simulation of climate change at a regional scale. These data projections enable us to model the potential impacts of climate change on, for example, endangered wildlife, agriculture, water supply and wildfire mitigation.

The challenge

Australia needs to prepare for the ongoing impacts of climate change. We need to understand the impacts of changing temperature and rainfall patterns. Global climate models generate projections at a scale of 150 to 200 km.

These are the best tools available to investigate climate change at global scales.

Local scale details like topography, land use, and coastlines can greatly affect the local climate, but these details are not well captured by the coarse resolution global climate models.

'This means global climate models are not the most appropriate tools when you need to look at the effects of climate change on a local region in New South Wales, like Sydney or a national park,' said Dr Giovanni Di Virgilio, who leads the climate research team.

Aerial view of Polblue Swamp in Barrington Tops National Park

Aerial view of Polblue Swamp in Barrington Tops National Park