Natural hazards in Australia: heatwaves

As part of a special issue on natural hazards, this paper reviews the current state of scientific knowledge of Australian heatwaves. Over recent years, progress has been made in understanding both the causes of and changes to heatwaves. Relationships between atmospheric heatwaves and large-scale and synoptic variability have been identified, with increasing trends in heatwave intensity, frequency and duration projected to continue throughout the 21st century. However, more research is required to further our understanding of the dynamical interactions of atmospheric Climatic Change DOI 10.1007/s10584-016-1650-0 This article is part of a Special Issue on BThe effect of historical and future climate changes on natural hazards in Australia^ edited by Seth Westra, Chris White and Anthony Kiem. * S. E. Perkins-Kirkpatrick [email protected] 1 Climate Change Research Centre & ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, UNSW, Sydney, Australia 2 School of Engineering and ICT, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia 3 Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia 4 School of Earth Sciences and ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, Melbourne University, Melbourne, Australia 5 CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Aspendale, Australia 6 School of GeoSciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK 7 CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australia 8 Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia 9 ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia 10 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia heatwaves, particularly with the land surface. Research into marine heatwaves is still in its infancy, with little known about driving mechanisms, and observed and future changes. In order to address these knowledge gaps, recommendations include: focusing on a comprehensive assessment of atmospheric heatwave dynamics; understanding links with droughts; working towards a unified measurement framework; and investigating observed and future trends in marine heatwaves. Such work requires comprehensive and long-term collaboration activities. However, benefits will extend to the international community, thus addressing global grand challenges surrounding these extreme events.