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

Indicators

Manton and Jasper (1998) recommended a set of indicators for State of the Environment Reporting in their report Environmental Indicators for State of the Environment Reporting - The Atmosphere (see http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/publications/envindicators.html).

'Information' is a measure of the amount of relevant information available for the Indicator, ranging from blank (no data), to 'yyy' (plenty). 'Response' summarises what is being done and 'Effectiveness of response' is an evaluation of the response.

	Key indicator	Page No.	State	Information	Response	Effectiveness of response
Climate variability and change
A 1.1	Southern Oscillation Index	47	Highly variable from year to year and decade to decade	yyy	Drought relief, seasonal forecasting research	Limited by quality of predictions of the SOI
A 1.2	Average sea surface temperatures	48	Significant effects on Australia; increasing around Australia	yy	Forecasting of sea surface temperatures and rainfall	Limited by skill of predictions and quality of data
A 1.3	Average sea level	49	Significant during extreme ENSO conditions; rising in most locations	y	Monitoring and improvement of data archive	Further research to improve data archive needed
A 1.4	Average daily rainfall	39	Very variable both in space and time	yy	Monitoring, forecasting, irrigation, planning	Further research to improve data needed
A 1.5 \| a \| b \|	Average maximum and minimum temperatures	42	Increasing at rates comparable with global trends	yyy	Monitoring, data collection, forecasting	Effective
A 1.6	Occurrence of rainfall extremes	40	Increasing, except decreases in south-west Western Australia	yy	Drought/flood relief, disaster planning	Commonwealth and State governments provide substantial funding; improved drought/flood forecasts needed
A 1.7	Occurrence of temperature extremes	44	Increase in extreme minimum temperatures has led to a reduction in frost frequency	yyy	Drought/frost mitigation	Improved forecasts of extreme temperatures needed
A 1.8	Occurrence of tropical cyclones	51	No consistent current trends	yyy	Disaster planning, design codes for infrastructure	Disaster planning effective, need more research
A 1.9	Temperature of the free atmosphere	45	Stratospheric temperature is decreasing while tropospheric temperature is increasing	y	Monitoring, calibration of satellite observations	Further research is needed
A 1.10	Greenhouse gas atmospheric concentrations	55	Increasing, with current concentrations the highest in at least the last 1000 years	yyy	Monitoring, calibration of measurements	Effective, but tropical measurements needed
A 1.11	Annual total greenhouse gas emissions	59	Very high per capita; low compared with emissions by other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries	y	Monitoring, mitigation	Mitigation measures are yet to prevent significant growth in emissions but will have greater effect in coming years
A 1.12	Greenhouse gas emissions by sector of the economy	59	Increasing, with public electricity, heating and transport largest contributors	y	Monitoring, inventory	In relation to sinks and forest regrowth a better inventory of emissions is needed
A 1.13	Insurance losses as a result of extreme weather	51	Tropical cyclones and hailstorms causing largest amounts of damage	yy	Emergency relief	Effective but need better damage assessment
A 1.14	Cost of drought to Government	52	Very variable in space and time	yyy	Drought relief	Commonwealth and State governments provide drought relief payments
A 1.15	National crop yield	53	Increasing, with high variations from year to year	yyy	Research and development on crops and improved forecasting	Effective but could be further improved
A 1.16	Government expenditure on climate related activities	62	Grossly inadequate compared with magnitude of problem	yyy	Research and development	Further research required on responses to climate change
A 1.17	Rainfall intensity	40	Intense events becoming more frequent	yy	Monitoring and forecasting, infrastructure design	Currently monitoring not effective; considerably more data needed as well as improved methods
A 1.18	Average evaporation rate	46	Highly variable	y	Monitoring and mapping	Currently not entirely effective; better observations and methods needed
A 1.19	Average aerosol loading	47	High in tropical Australia; not significant elsewhere	y	Monitoring and controlled burning	Effective but more data needed
A 1.20	Development of carbon sinks	61	Embryonic	y	Planting trees, conservation of wetlands	Not effective at meeting international obligations
A 1.21	National involvement in international processes on climate variability and change	64	Australia contributing to improved understanding of climate system	yyy	Involvement of major institutions in international climate-related programs	Effective
Stratospheric ozone
A 2.1	Concentration of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere	67	The concentration of ozone-depleting substances has started to decline	yyy	This is in response to the global restrictions on the consumption of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol	Effective. Minimum use and enhanced recycling will hasten the removal of ozone-depleting substances from the atmosphere
A 2.2	Stratospheric ozone concentrations across Australia	69	Ozone levels across southern Australia have declined by about 5 to 10% from 1980 to 2000 and the rate of ozone decline appears to have slowed in recent years	yy	Ozone loss appears to be responding as predicted to levels of ozone-depleting substances	Effective. Minimum use and enhanced recycling of ozone-depleting substances will hasten ozone recovery
A 2.3	Ultraviolet radiation flux at the surface	71	Skin reddening UV levels over southern Australia and New Zealand on clear-sky days in summer may have increased by up to 20% over the past 20 years	y	UV increases under clear sky conditions appear to be responding to losses in ozone	Effective. Minimum use and enhanced recycling of ozone-depleting substances will reduce UV radiation flux at the surface. In order to detect UV changes the Australian monitoring network should be strengthened
A 2.4	Magnitude of Antarctic spring-time ozone hole	70	The magnitude of the ozone hole reached a maximum in the mid-1990s and has showed no sign of abating to date	yyy	Responding to the amount of ozone-depleting chemicals and volcanic aerosols in the stratosphere, as well as the temperature of the stratosphere	Recovery of Antarctic ozone could be delayed by further major volcanic activity and continued growth of greenhouse gases
A 2.5	National emission of ozone-depleting substances	73	National emissions have not been determined, but national consumption of ozone-depleting substances has declined significantly over the past decade	yy	This is in response to initiatives taken under the Montreal Protocol	Australia should continue to have low consumption of ozone-depleting substances. National emission estimates should be undertaken
A 2.6	Fulfilment of national responsibilities under the Montreal Protocol and associated agreements	73	Australia has meet and mostly bettered all its targets for consumption of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal protocol	yy	This is in response to initiatives taken under the Montreal Protocol	Australia will continue to meet its targets under the Montreal Protocol
A 2.7	Public behaviour modification to protect against ultraviolet radiation	74	Public behaviour with respect to UV radiation has changed in favour of reduced exposure.	y	This is in response to successful media campaigns; news on ozone depletion may have helped reinforce this change	A possibility that news of ozone recovery will cause this improved attitude to UV exposure to diminish somewhat. Behavioural trends need to be reassessed
A 2.8	Health effects linked to ultraviolet exposure	75	The incidences of UV related diseases are increasing	y	This is probably due to changes in lifestyle that occurred decades ago; ozone depletion may have made a small contribution to increases in incidence of UV related diseases	Elevated levels of UV will occur for several decades to come. This could be used to reinforce messages about reduced exposure to UV
A 2.9	Destruction of ozone-depleting substances	75	Destruction of ozone-depleting substances is occurring on a significant scale in Australia	yyy	State legislation in Australia requires the recapture (rather than release) of ozone-depleting substances from some existing equipment	Ideally this should be extended to cover all existing equipment containing ozone-depleting substances
Urban air quality
A 3.1	Concentration of carbon monoxide in urban areas	82	Not a significant issue anywhere in Australia	yyy	ADR37/01 (1997) emission standards for petrol vehicles working through fleet	Effective
A 3.2	Concentration of ozone in urban areas	83	Ambient levels are generally low. Episodic high values in Sydney, Melbourne and increases in Perth continue to be of concern	yyy	Fuel quality standards, and summer reductions in fuel volatility are helping. Euro emission standards for vehicles are being introduced that will greatly reduce precursor emissions	New emission controls may be offset by other factors eg Increase in the number of vehicles and the distance travelled. In-service vehicle standards are needed. Onboard diagnostics will eventually assist
A 3.3	Concentration of lead in urban areas	84	Not a significant issue in major urban areas	yyy	Leaded petrol phased out by 1 Jan. 2002	Existing low levels will decrease even further
A 3.4	Concentration of nitrogen dioxide in urban areas	85	Not an issue in its own right, but there may be synergistic effects with ozone	yyy	Emission controls on industry and ADR37/01 emission controls on motor vehicles	Adequate
A 3.5	Concentration of sulfur dioxide in urban areas	85	Not an issue in any major urban area. Diesel vehicles a minor source	yyy	Low levels a result of major energy generation outside urban areas	Sulfur in diesel fuels will decrease with introduction of national fuel quality standards
A 3.6	Concentration of particles in urban areas	86	Seasonal episodic high values are reported from all major capital cities. Sources include domestic wood fires, vehicles (particularly diesel), controlled burns and bushfires	yy (PM10) y (PM2.5)	Air NEPM stringent standard. Some allowance for control burns; education and emission standards for wood burners	Actions on domestic wood burning having marginal effect. Diesel emission standards are being updated - long time for expected effect
A 3.7	Concentration of benzene in urban areas	88	Available data indicates that urban areas exceed overseas guideline values	y	National Pollutant Inventory in place. Regular monitoring has started in some urban areas	Need to check the validity of the emission information. Long-term monitoring is needed in all urban areas
A 3.8	Haze in urban areas	89	Haze events are the same as PM10 exceedences	yyy	As for PM10 and PM2.5	As for PM10 and PM2.5
A 3.9	Pollen levels in urban areas	89	Australia has the highest number of hay fever sufferers in the world	y	Regular monitoring takes place only in Melbourne. This is inadequate	National monitoring and information dissemination is needed
A 3.10	Toxic dosage of air pollutants	90	A number of toxic substances have been identified in urban air sheds. However, to date, only local isolated measurement programs have been undertaken	y	National Pollutant Inventory in place. National air toxic program to address issues under way	Further research is required
A 3.11	Meteorological conditions that exacerbate air quality problems	78	Air pollution exceedences, especially of the PM10 standard, are related to climatic conditions that cause bushfires	y	Ongoing meteorological monitoring	Insufficient climatological information on wind speeds to enable this to be adequately accounted in pollution propensity calculations
A 3.12	Emission of air pollutants in urban areas	81	Emissions are the dominant driver of air pollution	yy	National Pollutant Inventory	Improving
A 3.13	Number of people covered by air quality monitoring	77	The Air NEPM determines the requisite number of monitoring stations	yyy	Jurisdictions are in the process of complying with the NEPM recommendations	Adequate
A 3.14 \| a \| b \|	Quality of national monitoring system	77	The amount of monitoring that takes place is known	yyy	There is no agreed metric for quality	Future reporting under the NEPM protocol will include a measure of data availability
A 3.15	Uniform government actions to monitor and reduce urban air pollutants	93	Commonwealth and state governments all have actions in place	yy	Strategy plans, management plans, and various funding programs	Results indicate that the strategies have been effective
A 3.16	Compliance with government legislation and regulations	96	Odours and smoky vehicles comprise most non-compliance	y	Episodic educational or publicity programs	Lack of information as to effectiveness
A 3.17	Motor vehicle use	99	Continued growth is of concern	yyy	No controls on vehicle use, as such, but controls on emissions and, in some jurisdictions, inspection and maintenance programs	Temporarily adequate
A 3.18	Use of unleaded petrol	81	Rapid decline in sale of leaded petrol	yyy	Differential pricing of leaded petrol, combined with a phase-out means that soon there will be total use of unleaded petrol	Highly successful as shown by indicator 3.3
A 3.19	Hospital admissions for respiratory conditions	97	Mortality data is available and indicates strong links between air quality and respiratory condition	y	Tied in to PM10 response	Tied in to PM10 response
Regional air quality
4.1	Concentration of sulfur dioxide across regional airsheds	107	Emissions from major point sources in Australia have decreased by one third over past five years. Port Pirie and Mount Isa do not comply with Air NEPM. Further evidence that there is no significant acid deposition in Australia	yyy	Use of sulfuric acid plant to remove SO₂before emission. Dynamic airshed management strategies for major sources are used to control ground level concentration mainly for health protection	Sulfuric acid plants are effective. Current dynamic management strategies are inferior to eliminating emissions. Effects on native vegetation are generally unknown
4.2	Concentration of particles across regional airsheds	110	The most widespread air pollution problem in Australia is due to airborne particles. Sources include bushfires, minerals industry, domestic wood heaters, agricultural practices	yy	Agencies are imposing emissions standards on wood heaters, education on their correction operation. Minerals industry Code for Environmental Management	Wood heater education a very slow process. Minerals Code evidently working well. No sign of an appreciation of importance of agricultural practices
4.3	Concentration of lead across regional airsheds	113	Lead in air is a known issue in only three locations. Elsewhere, levels are very low	yy	Industry has been practicing continuous improvement such as covering stockpiles and transfer points	The ongoing high levels in Pirie and Boolaroo suggest that actions are not yet showing adequate improvement
4.4	Concentration of carbon monoxide across regional airsheds	114	Though data are scarce, the levels are likely low everywhere and of no concern	y	Levels will decrease further as modern motor vehicle emissions standards work through the fleet	Emissions controls such as ADR37/01 (1997) and forthcoming Euro standards are very effective
4.5	Concentration of ozone across regional airsheds	116	There are very few direct measurements. Evidence from modelling points to widespread episodic high concentrations downwind of major cities	y	Past actions to control ozone levels in major urban areas may have actually increased levels downwind in regional areas	New appreciation of the need for both NO^x and VOC management should be beneficial
4.6	Concentration of nitrogen dioxide across regional airsheds	118	Though data are scarce, the levels are likely low everywhere and of no concern	y	None known and none needed
4.7	Concentration of fluoride across regional airsheds	120	Levels beyond buffer zones of aluminium smelters are low; power stations, brickworks, etc., may be an issue. Few data, ineffectively used, available from agencies	yy	Buffer zones protect areas adjacent to smelters. Significant improvement in emissions reduction	Use of buffer zones is effective. Effective use of improved emission reduction technology
4.8	Deposition of dust across regional airsheds	122	As for particles. See 4.2	yy	As for particles. See 4.2	As for particles. See 4.2
4.9	Concentration of benzene across regional airsheds	123	May be low but agencies have a poor record of making information available to the public	y	National Pollutant Inventory in place. The public is not properly informed about the evidence for this pollutant	International standards have decreased markedly, warranting further attention in Australia
4.10	Meteorological conditions that exacerbate air quality problems	107	The episodic conditions that exacerbate air pollution are well understood. However, the relationships between climate and air pollution are not well understood	yy	Advanced air pollution models have clearly shown the episodic conditions. There is a need for better information on climate factors	Better understanding of the role of climate would improve air quality management in regional Australia
4.11	Toxic dosage of air pollutants	124	Data lacking	-	Unknown
4.12	Occurrence of haze	124	As for particles. See 4.2	yy	As for particles. See 4.2	As for particles. See 4.2
4.13	Occurrence of smoke and fire	124	May be increasing	y	Concern is being heightened re biodiversity and greenhouse gases	Too early
4.14	Emission of regional air pollutants	107	Covered by discussion of individual pollutants	yy	Covered by discussion of individual pollutants	Covered by discussion of individual pollutants
4.15	Area of national air-sheds monitored for State of the Environment Reporting	107	Covered in Issue 3		Covered in Issue 3	Covered in Issue 3
4.16	Number of local government bodies which have programs to monitor and regulate air quality	125	Local government recognises the high importance placed by the public on air quality	yyy	About 50% of Australians are covered by local governments with action plans	Effective and growing activity at local government level. Much more could be done