Heatwaves are defined as unusually high temperature events that occur for at least three consecutive days with major impacts to human health, economy, agriculture and ecosystems. This dataset provides time-series of heatwave characteristics such as peak temperature, number of events, frequency and duration from 1950 to 2016 in Australia. The analysis were based on daily minimum and maximum temperature obtained from the Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP). The data is available as spatial time-series (5km grid-cell) and aggregated time-series for all Local Government Areas in Australia.

Dynamically downscaled high-resolution (~10 km spatial resolution) climate change projection data for Queensland. Downscaling was completed using CSIRO Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model (CCAM) for two RCPs (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) from 11 CMIP5 global coarse resolution models for period 1980-2099. The Queensland Future Climate Dashboard (www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/qld-future-climate/ ) provides easy access to climate projection for Queensland. The dashboard allows users to explore, visualize and download the latest high-resolution climate modelling data for specific regions, catchments, disaster areas, local government areas and grid squares. Underlying data is provided via TERN for easy access for each of 11 downscaled models. The Queensland Future Climate Dataset provides high resolution data for over 30 different metrics grouped in six climate themes: (i) Mean Climate; (ii) Heatwaves; (iii) Extreme Temperature Indices; (iv) Extreme Precipitation Indices; (v) Droughts; and (vi) Floods. In addition selected variables at daily and monthly intervals are also available.

Schools Weather and Air Quality (SWAQ) is a citizen science project funded by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science as part of its Inspiring Australia - Citizen Engagement Program. SWAQ is equipping public schools across Sydney with research-grade meteorology and air quality sensors, enabling students to collect and analyse research quality data through curriculum-aligned classroom activities. The network includes twelve automatic weather stations and seven automatic air quality stations, stretched from -33.5995° to -34.0421° latitude and from 150.6913° to 151.2708° longitude. The average spacing is 10.2 km and the average installation height is 2.5 m above ground level. Optimum site allocation was determined by undertaking a multi-criteria weighted overlay analysis to ensure data representativeness and quality. Six meteorological parameters (dry-bulb temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, rain, wind speed, and wind direction) and six air pollutants (SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM2.5, and PM10) are recorded. Observations and metadata are available from September 2019 for WXT536 + AQT420 stations and from October 2019 for WXT536 stations (refer to Table 1 of the Dataset Guide), thus encompassing the Black Summer bushfire and the COVID-19 lockdown period. Data routinely undergo quality control, quality assurance and publication.