Climate
KEY FINDINGS FROM OUR 2024 REPORT CARD
Climate conditions are critically linked to the dynamics of our waterways and catchments. In the reporting year 2022 to 2023 the Townsville region saw no major flooding or cyclone events, but climate conditions were far from uneventful.
Rainfall
Rainfall in both the Black and Ross Basins came in notable peaks and troughs, ‘very much above the monthly average’ in July, October, and November of 2022, and ‘very much below the monthly average’ in May and June 2023, cumulating in an ‘average’ annual total.
Why rainfall matters
Heavy rainfall can flush sediment, nutrients, and litter through our catchments, having an impact on whole ecosystems. At the same time, months with less rain tend to see our Dry Tropics soils dry out and vegetation become sparser – making sediment runoff into waterways more likely when rain returns.
Air temperatures
Annual average air temperature was 24.8°C in the Ross Basin, exceeding the basin’s long-term annual mean by 0.8° C. The Black Basin’s average was 24.2°C, exceeding its mean by 1.1°C. For five months, both Ross and Black Basins recorded temperatures in the highest 1% of the long-term monthly mean for that month.
The year’s reporting shows there was little reprieve from warm air temperatures across our region.
Why temperatures matter
Warm air temperatures can affect our water systems in many ways. As temperatures increase, less oxygen can dissolve in water, reducing its availability for fish and plants.
Warmer air also promotes the excessive growth of weeds and algae in our freshwater systems, further reducing dissolved oxygen. In marine environments, coral and seagrass are particularly sensitive to unrelenting heat, with coral further subject to competition for space from macroalgae.
Sea surface temperatures
Sea surface temperatures in our reporting region were ‘average’ or ‘above average’ for every month.
Temperatures were higher offshore than inshore, a reverse from the previous year, possibly related to high levels of rainfall cooling coastal areas. Sustained sea surface temperatures can impact the health and resilience of coral and seagrass.
