Storms fewer, but more intense - Karl Braganza

Houses at Collaroy Beach front got
smashed by the weekend storm surge.

Events like this weekend's super storm that smashed into eastern Australia are likely to become fewer in frequency in a warming world but pack more intensity when they hit, climate scientists say.

The damaging event came just a month after the NSW government announced increased funds and a new coastal management bill to require councils and residents to prepare for emerging threats.

The source of the wild winds, heavy rain and coastal erosion was an east coast low. Such storms are typical at this time of year, with as many as eight such lows a year.

Karl Braganza, head of climate monitoring at the Bureau of Meteorology, said climate models estimate the number of such lows may decrease by 25 per cent or more by the end of the century, particularly in winter.

Read Peter Hannam’s story in today‘s Melbourne Age - “Sydney storm: East coast lows to become fewer but more intense, scientists say.”