The Wire

Queensland may be called the sunshine state, but perhaps Australia should now be called the sunshine country? The reason? Well scientists have worked out that sunshine is getting dimmer, and while its happening in many places, it seems to be concentrated in certain parts of the world – like North America and Europe. This may explain why the sunshine over there is “hazy”, while over here it is “stark”. This new phenomenon has been dubbed “global dimming”. Australian scientists from the Co-operative Research Centre (or CRC) are currently in Montreal at a conference to discuss this very phenomenon. They’ve found that even though global warming is increasing, water in large outdoor basins, or pans, is evaporating more slowly. Taya Fabijanic spoke to Dr. Chris Mitchell, CEO of the Co-operative Research Centre.

CSIRO- climate change
Cooperative Research Centre