Atmosphere Theme Report
Australia State of the Environment Report 2001 (Theme Report)
Lead Author: Dr Peter Manins, Environmental Consulting and Research Unit, CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Authors
Published by CSIRO on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2001
ISBN 0 643 06746 9
Climate Variability and Change (continued)
Cloudiness
Changes in mean annual cloud cover over Australia since 1957 have been determined from observations of total cloud amount from several stations (Figure 32). These data have been adjusted for inconsistent observation practices.
Figure 32: Annual average total cloud cover over Australia from 1957 to 1998.
Source: BoM
There was an increase in Australian annual mean cloud cover until the mid-1970s, followed by a slight decrease. This decline is consistent with an increase in the number of El Nio events in recent years.