Climate change in the Georgina and Diamantina water plan area

There have been changes in rainfall and climate since the current Georgina and Diamantina water plan was established in 2004.

We are reviewing the hydrology (the scientific study of how water moves, is distributed and is managed) within the water plan area to determine how water availability has changed since then.

We are undertaking a technical assessment to evaluate possible future impacts of climate change to water availability in the region.

Learn how we manage climate change risks.

Queensland’s water plans in a variable and changing climate report (PDF, 19MB) identifies climate impacts across each of the water plan areas. For example, pages 50 and 51 of the report show the below snapshot of observed and projected climate trends for the Georgina and Diamantina water plan area.

The snapshot includes 2 scenarios represented by a representative concentration pathway (RCP) of 8.5 (high greenhouse gas emissions) and 4.5 (lower greenhouse gas emissions) for the years 2030 and 2050. They indicate:

• average daily temperatures are projected to increase between 1 and 2 degrees centigrade
• average annual rainfall is projected to increase up to 3% for the high emissions scenario
• average annual rainfall is projected to increase in 2030 by 4% and in 2050 by 1% for the lower emissions scenario
• average annual potential evapotranspiration (PET) is projected to increase between 6 and 15%.