{"id":421893,"date":"2026-01-18T14:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T13:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421893"},"modified":"2026-01-18T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T13:43:13","slug":"a-good-mix-of-sunlight-and-rain-is-now-climate-whiplash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421893","title":{"rendered":"A Good Mix of Sunlight and Rain is Now \u201cClimate Whiplash\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Aussie Agricultural productivity is soaring \u2013 but apparently good seasons and a failure to manage fire risk are a climate disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Rain one minute, heatwave the next. How climate \u2018whiplash\u2019 drives unpredictable fire weather<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: January 12, 2026 6.08am AEDT
David Bowman<\/a>
Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a weekend of extreme heat and windy conditions, more than 30 blazes were still burning in Victoria and New South Wales as of Sunday evening, including major fires in the Otways, near the town of Alexandra in central Victoria, and on the NSW-Victoria border near Corryong. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What role does climate change play in supercharging extreme weather conditions, such as these? The evidence shows it not only turns up the thermostat, it also makes the climate system more erratic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One emerging aspect of such climate change is \u201chydroclimatic whiplash<\/a>\u201d \u2013 sudden and often frequent transitions between very dry and very wet conditions. It can feel like the climate system is toggling between lots of different states: floods one minute, bushfires the next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forecast for this fire season<\/a> was not as calamitous as it is proving to be. That\u2019s not a criticism \u2013 we have to expect the unexpected. Rather than using the term climate change, which implies a steady and predictable shift, I now prefer the term \u201cclimate instability\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key point is there are going to be lots more fires. We can\u2019t resent the administrative and financial effort it will take to make our landscapes safer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/rain-one-minute-heatwave-the-next-how-climate-whiplash-drives-unpredictable-fire-weather-273104<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I am so fed up with greens impeding forestry management, then trying to claim the resulting fire disaster is because of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been a good few years.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Line
Aussie Wheat Yields. Source\u00a0USDA<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This Summer I barely had to turn on the garden watering system. Every day this Summer has been either blazing hot or wet, plenty of water in the ground, and lots of sunlight to drive growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given such benign growing conditions, why wasn\u2019t more effort made to do controlled burns during the wet periods of the \u201cwhiplash\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, we already know the likely answer to that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Sky News: Aussie Royal Commission to Investigate how Climate Activists “Hijacked” Forestry Management<\/a><\/blockquote>