Three La Niña events in a row and record-breaking rains in eastern Australia from 2020–2022 left a sodden landscape. Three La Niña events in a row and record-breaking rains in eastern Australia from 2020–2022 left a sodden landscape. With the declaration of an El Niño and positive IOD the Bureau of Meteorology is expecting a dry and warm spring. But just how quickly can we return to dry?
This webinar, presented by Associate Professor Ailie Gallant and facilitated by Ramona Dalla Pozza highlights recent and ongoing work from the Climate Systems Hub project Extreme climate: dry, wet, hot-and-dry. This work demonstrates that under certain conditions, sodden soils can dry out in weeks. Further, these periods of rapid drying can coincide with extreme heat, and in some cases bushfires. Looking at recent case studies of such events, Dr Gallant examines the implications of rapid drying on the upcoming summer, and summers beyond.