Australia’s climate is changing rapidly due to rising global greenhouse gas emissions. Extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, east coast low pressure systems, flash floods, droughts, bushfires, severe storms, and both land and marine heatwaves are becoming increasingly common, as the National Climate Risk Assessment makes clear.

These can overwhelm emergency and medical services, damage infrastructure, and lead to deaths and morbidities.

Yet only some extreme weather events receive names.

Last November, for example, the Northern Territory was hit by Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina, while much of Australia was about to swelter through an unnamed heatwave.

Could there be benefits to giving a name to all of our extreme weather?

In Australia, the only severe weather events that receive formal names are tropical cyclones.

Tropical cyclones are named alphabetically, with names occasionally skipped under specific protocols (such as for high-profile political figures). In March 2025, for example, “Anthony” was replaced with Cyclone Alfred.

Other weather events are treated differently. Large bushfires often receive informal names based on dates or locations – such as Black Saturday or the Black Summer fires – while smaller bushfires typically go unnamed.

Internationally, formal naming of tropical weather systems expanded........

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