Australian Research and Response
Rainfall decline around Australia has occurred in areas of high population and higher economic activity (including Perth and the study area), which poses significant challenges to meet growing demand for water in a timely fashion.
The CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology recently released a report, Climate Change in Australia, which provides essential tools for government, industry and the community to understand the likely magnitude of climate change in Australia and the possible impacts.
This report concludes that the 15% decrease in rainfall in South Western Australia over the past 30 years is likely to be at least partly due to human induced increases in greenhouse gases. The future projection for Perth is for further decline in winter and spring rainfalls that are vital for streamflows to public water supply dams as well as our natural environment.