Andrew B. Watkins
banner
windjunky.bsky.social
Andrew B. Watkins
@windjunky.bsky.social

Australian climate scientist rambling about climate drivers, variability, risks, trends & impacts. Once played goalie for Antarctica. Born @ 325ppm.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drandrewwatkins/

Environmental science 33%
Medicine 16%

“Two cup holders for an AUKUS sub”

Reposted by Andrew Watkins

Tomorrow is Climate Report Christmas with the CCA's Annual Progress Review, the Annual Climate Statement, the Annual Emissions Projections, and the Quarterly Emissions data all coming out at once.

What's your tip for the weirdest accounting fudge the government will try to sneak through?

Reposted by Andrew Watkins

I wasn't going to do a cartoon about this at all but then i found it cost 100 million dollars!!!! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Have you seen the new BoM website? Everyone is so mad about it | First Dog on the Moon
We just want things to work! Why is that too much to ask at the end of the world?
www.theguardian.com

Luckily in Western Australia (Perth) government listened to BoM and CSIRO scientists in IOCI, and made changes to water use and supply. We now have day zero case studies of non-science response (Cape Town, Tehran) and science response (Perth).

The drought in Iran that may see the evacuation of Tehran (10 million people) was made much more likely and more severe by climate change.
New rapid-assessment by WWA.
www.worldweatherattribution.org/human-induce...
Human-induced climate change compounded by socio-economic water stressors increased severity of 5-year drought in Iran and Euphrates and Tigris basin – World Weather Attribution
www.worldweatherattribution.org

I’m a huge fan… there are a lot of ‘soft’ records out there and a lot of extremes that are far more likely than people think. After all, ‘observations’ are just one ensemble member…

Isn’t this the UKMO Unprecedented Simulated Extremes using ENsembles (UNSEEN) idea?
We adopted that for Australia’s first National Climate Risk Assessment to assess ‘now’ (GWL1.2)
www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/cli...
Predicting extreme weather
How can you accurately calculate the chance of extreme weather? Innovative research techniques using the Met Office’s supercomputer is breaking new ground.
www.metoffice.gov.uk

no, definitely thank you Michael.

Reposted by Michael E. Mann

I wrote some of my thoughts about CoP in another forum, then discovered I was not alone. The CoP process has achieved great outcomes, but its now hitting brick walls when we most need to hit targets. Do yourself a favour, and have a read of this...

Worth a read IMHO. We need something new to move foreword from the CoP hijack.
thanks @michaelemann.bsky.social
michaelmann.net/bad-cop/
Bad COP | Michael E. Mann
The COP30 global climate summit in Brazil may have been the last opportunity for the nations of the world to reach an agreement that limits planetary […]
michaelmann.net

There isn’t Big Clouroflourocarbon (CFC) or CFC States. That’s it.

Agree - if it wasn't for the APS FTE cap introduced by the LNP there may never have been such a pickle.

"But now, the fact the BOM has been hiding the true cost of its white elephant and initially lying about the total figure is deeply concerning, considering that the BOM should be all about trust."

A plan for a plan?

Reposted by Andrew Watkins

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has asked the weather agency's new boss to examine how the website's cost and redesign went so wrong.
BOM's new website and $96.5m cost-blowout under renewed scrutiny by minister
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has asked the weather agency's new boss to examine how the website's cost and redesign went so wrong.
www.abc.net.au

Highest wind gust recorded at Darwin Airport for Tracy was 217kmh before the anemometer broke.
Highest for Fina at the airport was 107 kmh.
Not really the same ballpark, but still scary.

TC Tracy in Darwin 1974 as a comparison. That’s my friend/colleague Mark Williams in the bathtub (top left) that he spent the night in with a colleague.
TC Fina damage vs this = changes in climate risk and resilience (primarily building codes). #climateadaptation
media.bom.gov.au/social/blog/...

Stuart Minchin says BoM website cost $96m.
Only $92m more than old boss claimed.
Splitting hairs really.

www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...
Total bill for BoM’s new website came in at $96 million
In his first interview, new Bureau of Meteorology chief Stuart Minchin has revealed the eye-watering true cost of its lambasted new website.
www.smh.com.au

"A voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels."
The sum total of progress in over 30 years of UNFCCC CoP meetings. How else do we do this?
(Image @gergyl.bsky.social )

Is this thing on?
(Annual post)

Reposted by Andrew Watkins

Middle Point with 393mm and still raining has broken the Northern Territory November station record by nearly 100mm.

The records are available at reg.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/clim...

“Well sir, there's nothing on Earth like a genuine, bona-fide, electrified, six-car monorail!"

The attacks on science by some governments is reaching new lows, but sadly this is slowly shifting the Overton window (the range of political ideas that are acceptable to the public) globally. Hence easier to cut science now than ever before, right when we need it most
#sadface #novotesonadeadplanet
The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence
CDC Vaccine Website Promotes Anti-Science Claims of Autism Ties
The agency this week quietly changed its official language to suggest vaccines may cause autism, a claim that scientists say has no basis in evidence
www.scientificamerican.com

Reposted by Andrew Watkins

When your ships go out, but they don’t come in. #cop30

Another positive feedback loop that isn't all that positive for the planet. Its findings like this that nudge your thinking towards more sea level rise than currently projected.
It's a powerful feedback loop: more ice shelf melting changes salinities which generates more ocean turbulence, which in turn causes more melting — with major implications for ice shelf stability and global sea level rise. (arrow shows max melt ratio)

Paper in @nature.com Geoscience ▶️ rdcu.be/eQEEg

Minister Bowen offer: Pre-CoP in a South Pacific country, and Australia provides president of CoP 31 negotiations that are held in Türkiye.
app.frame.io/presentation...
Frame.io
app.frame.io

This could be worth a read for those of us on Boards:
‘Nature enters the Boardroom’
by Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD)
www.aicd.com.au/content/dam/...
www.aicd.com.au

New CEO started 10 days ago.