In addition to these projected changes in temperature and
precipitation over the coming century, Australia’s vulnerability to
the impacts of climate change is likely to be exacerbated by the
increasing frequency and intensity of a range of extreme weather
events, including heat waves, fires, floods, landslides, droughts and
storm surges. Large areas of mainland Australia are likely to experience a reduction in soil moisture, furthering demands on water
supply. The most threatened regions, according to the IPCC and
other authors (e.g., Hennessy et al., 2007; Steffen, 2009), include
the Great Barrier Reef, eastern Queensland, the South-West, the
Murray-Darling Basin, the Australian Alps, and the Kakadu wetlands. A new suite of climate projections for Australia is due to be
released by the Regional Natural Resource Management Planning
for Climate Change Fund in 2014 (Australian Climate Change
Science Program, no date).