After a heatwave, we crave relief, not more extreme weather. But increasingly, we have to contend with a succession of extremes – ricocheting from extreme heat to intense storms to flooding waterways.

We saw this in the Victorian Otways region last summer, when extreme heat, fires and floods all occurred in the space of two weeks.

We studied this sudden “weather whiplash”, where a heatwave is followed by heavy rainfall, in more detail to understand which parts of Australia are affected, why this occurs and how this phenomenon is changing as the world warms.

The results were sobering. Not only are weather whiplashes a repeating feature of Australia’s climate, but they are becoming more frequent and affecting larger areas of the country than a century ago.

Australians know extreme weather, and many of us have experienced its repercussions firsthand. Heatwaves are a “silent killer”, responsible for more deaths than all other natural hazards combined, while extreme rainfall can bring either cooling relief or destruction through flash flooding. Climate change is increasing their frequency, and they do not always occur in isolation.

It’s........

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