Drying land and heating seas: why nature in Australia's southwest is on the climate frontline

By Jatin Kala, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA felllow, Murdoch University
Belinda Robson, Associate Professor, Murdoch University
Joe Fontaine, Lecturer, Environmental and Conservation Science, Murdoch University
Stephen Beatty, Research Leader (Catchments to Coast), Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University
Thomas Wernberg, Professor, The University of Western Australia

In a few days world leaders will descend on Glasgow for the United Nations climate change talks. Much depends on it. We know climate change is already happening, and nowhere is the damage more stark than in Australia’s southwest.

The southwest of Western Australia has been identified as a global drying hotspot. Since 1970, winter rainfall has declined up to 20%, river flows have plummeted and heatwaves spanning water and land have intensified.
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