Australia has always been a land of climatic extremes, but in recent decades, those extremes have sharpened.
Fueled by climate change, the country now faces intensifying droughts, catastrophic bushfires, rising seas, and an alarming loss of biodiversity.
Here's how the crisis is reshaping Australia—from its coastal cities to its coral reefs and wild bushlands:
Longer dry spells are now common in the country’s southeast and southwest, the agricultural heartlands.
Rainfall is becoming less reliable, and when it does arrive, it often comes in destructive bursts.
These shifts are tied to the warming climate and are making multi-year droughts more frequent and intense.
Simultaneously, bushfire seasons are lengthening and becoming more ferocious.
The 2019–2020 Black Summer fires scorched over 24 million hectares, destroyed thousands of homes, and blanketed cities in hazardous smoke. The Royal Commission directly linked the severity of these fires to climate change.
And then came the floods. In early 2022, record-breaking rainfall inundated large swaths of eastern Australia, leaving towns underwater and thousands displaced. These rapid swings—from drought to deluge—are a hallmark of a climate out of balance.
Link: CSIRO State of the Climate Report 2022
According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, Australian coastlines could see sea levels rise by up to one meter by 2100 under high-emission scenarios.
Cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane face an increased risk of coastal erosion, tidal flooding, and infrastructure collapse.
Even moderate sea-level rise threatens the Torres Strait Islands, where some communities are already retreating inland.
Link: Climate Council: Sea Level Rise and Australia
The Great Barrier Reef: A Dying Wonder
Nowhere is the ocean crisis more visible than on the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral system and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
But its status is slipping.
Marine heatwaves have triggered five mass coral bleaching events since 1998, with back-to-back events in 2016 and 2017 killing off roughly half the reef’s shallow water coral.
Warmer seas weaken the reef’s resilience, and rising carbon dioxide levels are acidifying the water, undermining the corals’ ability to rebuild.
Without global emissions cuts, scientists warn the reef could be functionally dead by 2050.
Link: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: Climate Change Impacts
Australia’s flora and fauna are unique. They are
also among the most threatened by climate change.
The Black Summer bushfires alone affected an estimated 3 billion animals. Koalas, already struggling from habitat loss, face even greater danger from drought and heat stress.
The platypus, once common, is now disappearing from parts of its range. Birds, frogs, reptiles—even alpine marsupials—are shifting habitats or vanishing altogether.
Climate change acts as a “threat multiplier,” intensifying the effects of land clearing, invasive species, and disease. Once these ecosystems pass a certain threshold, recovery may be impossible.
Link: WWF Australia: Wildlife and Climate Change
A Call to Action
Scientists and environmental groups say that stronger climate policy—domestically and globally—is essential to limit the damage.
The stakes are clear. What’s at risk is not just biodiversity or beachfront property—it’s the stability of life across an entire continent.
Links: Climate Council | Australian Academy of Science: Climate Hub