Climate Of Australia:

The climate of Australia varies widely, but by far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid – 40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate: part is tropical rainforests, part grasslands, and part desert.

Rainfall is highly variable, with frequent droughts lasting several seasons thought to be caused in part by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Occasionally a dust storm will blanket a region or even several states and there are reports of the occasional large tornado. Rising levels of salinity and desertification in some areas is ravaging the landscape.

Australia’s tropical/subtropical location and cold waters off the western coast make most of Western Australia a hot desert with aridity, a marked feature of greater part of the continent. These cold waters produce precious little moisture needed on the mainland. A 2005 study by Australian and American researchers investigated the desertification of the interior, and suggested that one explanation was related to human settlers who arrived about 50,000 years ago. Regular burning by these settlers could have prevented monsoons from reaching interior Australia.

Drought:

The rainfall patterns across Australia are highly seasonal. Compared to the Earth’s other continental landmasses Australia is very dry. More than 80 percent of the continent has an annual rainfall of less than 600 millimeters, only Antarctica receives less rainfall than Australia. There are four main factors that contribute to the dryness of the Australian landmass.

Cyclones:

Australia is affected by tropical cyclones which primarily occur between December and April. A few cyclones are known to impact the coast in November and May as well. The region between Broome and Exmouth are most prone to cyclones. Tropical cyclones are known to bring destructive winds, heavy rain with flooding creating storm surges along the coast, causing inundation in low, lying areas. The strongest cyclones can have wind gusts reaching 280 km/h. Cyclones can also move inland, decaying to a rain depression, dumping heavy rain in these areas and causing flooding