What was Australia’s climate like before official weather records began? How do scientists use tree-rings, ice cores and tropical corals to retrace the past? What do Indigenous seasonal calendars reveal? And what do settler diary entries about rainfall, droughts, bushfires and snowfalls tell us about natural climate cycles?

Dr Joëlle Gergis will be in Canberra to discuss her new book, Sunburnt Country. The book pieces together Australia’s climate history for the first time. It uncovers a continent long vulnerable to climate extremes and variability. It gives an unparalleled perspective on how human activities have altered patterns that have been with us for millions of years, and what climate change looks like in our own backyard.

Sunburnt Country highlights the impact of a warming planet on Australian lifestyles and ecosystems and the power we all have to shape future life on Earth.

Dr Gergis will discuss the book with Associate Professor Nerilie Abram (Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU) followed by audience Q&A.

About Dr Joëlle Gergis

Dr Joëlle Gergis is an award-winning climate scientist and writer from the University of Melbourne.