Extreme events

Facing the future of disaster resilience

Extreme events continue to challenge Australians under a changing climate. We explore the role of science in helping build our resilience as we prepare for future disasters and improve our response and recovery.

Protecting the health of Australians through improved bushfire smoke forecasting

Air quality forecasting improvements will be able to provide hourly and daily information on pollutants in the air to help fire and environmental authorities, and the community.

Ten steps to increasing bushfire resilience

A Queensland bushfire resilience guide for homeowners was named a state finalist in the Resilient Australia Awards in Brisbane on October 6, 2021. We step through the guide's top tips.

Why hazard reduction burning is no smokescreen

Used alongside other fire management approaches, hazard reduction burning can reduce the impact of bushfire on property and loss of life.

Preparing for Victoria’s water future in a warmer and drier climate

New research shows that Victoria’s climate is changing and with that comes the need to better understand how the water cycle is changing and how this will impact on water supplies.

One House to save many

Sometimes playing with fire is actually the safest option – especially when you’re building houses designed to withstand extreme events.

Saving the world’s ecosystems one A at a time

Scientists examine 19 ecosystems under pressure, from the beautiful to the rare.

Building our nation’s climate and disaster resilience: where to from here?

Recent extreme climate and disaster events are fresh in our minds given the summer of 2019/20. So it's timely to question what we can do to build climate and disaster resilience to support our communities, the economy and our environment.

Where there’s smoke there’s complex decisions in the land that burns

Australia is one of the most fire-prone countries on earth. Last summer, as the fires raged, so did the national debate: could we have done more to prevent the carnage? Should we have done more hazard reduction burning?