2021-08-10 P&E Agenda - Item 7 - Attachment 1 - Climate Change Response Plan

                                                               Noosa Climate Change Response Plan




Temperature                                          elderly, the homeless, and those with pre-existing
                                                     health conditions. This is significant given the
Noosa’s average, maximum and minimum                 average age for a resident of Noosa is higher
temperatures are projected to continue to rise.      than the Queensland average. In addition to
For the near future (2030), the annually averaged    people, heatwaves can have an impact on critical
warming is projected to be around 1.5°C above        infrastructure services, livestock and other
the climate baseline of 1986–2005. By the year       agricultural practices, building cooling costs,
2070, this projected range of warming will           and local flora and fauna.
reach between 2.1 to 3.4°C above the baseline.
Noosa’s current summer average temperature is        Rainfall
25°C. This could increase to 27°C by 2050, 28°C      High climate variability is likely to remain the
by 2070, and 29°C by 2090.                           major factor influencing rainfall changes in the
                                                     next few decades. By the year 2090, projections
Such rapid changes in temperature could have
                                                     of average total annual rainfall show little
an effect on the lifecycles of local flora and       change or a decrease across the Noosa Shire.
fauna, the viability of horticultural enterprises,   However, the intensity of heavy rainfall events is
and increase the prevalence of mosquito-borne        likely to increase as summer totals rise by 11%
diseases and other harmful pests. Increases in       by 2090. Conversely, winter and spring totals
the average and maximum temperatures will also       are projected to decrease by 8% and 25%
increase cooling costs for private- and publicly-    respectively, by the year 2090.
owned buildings.                                     By late this century, it is likely that the region will
                                                     experience more time in drought, compared to
There is likely to be a substantial increase
                                                     the present day.
in the frequency and duration of heatwaves.
Currently, the average duration for the longest      The combination of a drier dry season and
single heatwave in a year is around 5 days.          wetter wet seasons, and an increase in drought
The duration of such an event is projected to        conditions, could lead to a range of risks and
                                                     changes such as soil loss through erosion
increase to 7.5 days by 2030,
                                                     (during heavy rainfall), localised flooding,
14 days by 2050, 33 days by 2070, and 67 days
                                                     compaction of soils leading to reduced
by 2090. Such a change represents one of the
                                                     absorption of rainfall, increased prevalence of
most significant climate risks to Noosa.
                                                     outdoor sporting injuries, soil movement leading
In Queensland, heatwaves are responsible             to fractures in built structures, and impacts on
for more deaths than all other natural hazards       agricultural enterprises and native flora and
combined. Those groups most at risk include the      fauna.




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