CLEX, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes

The Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes (CLEX) is a major initiative funded by the Australian Research Council. The Centre is an international research consortium of five Australian universities and a network of outstanding national and international partner organizations.

The Centre will improve our understanding of the processes that trigger or enhance extremes and build this understanding into our modelling systems. The improved predictions of climate extremes will enable improvements in how Australia copes with extremes now and in the future.

Breaking news

Distant processes influence marine heatwaves around the world

The frequency of marine heatwave days increased by 50% over the past century but our ability to predict them has been limited by a lack of understanding around the key global...
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Research brief: Is the pattern of Earth’s warming going to change and why?

The world has warmed on average by about 1°C due to the human influence on the climate. But the amount of warming varies greatly between regions with the Arctic warming more than...
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Research brief: Tropical atmosphere’s balancing act breaks down at regional levels

Globally the cooling of the atmosphere by radiation is balanced by its heating from condensation and heat transfer from the Earth's surface. This study is the first to...
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Briefing note 007: Recent El Niño behaviour is unprecedented in the last 400 years

Key Points El Niño events have a profound impact on the climate of Australia and other countries around the Pacific Rim. Researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate...
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News

Research hub

Student hub

Outputs

Research briefs

Research brief: Observations of small ocean eddies in the Arctic using glider technology

Picture (above): Ocean Glider. Credit: Alseamar. Ocean eddies have long been suggested to play a key role in regulating the inflow of warm Atlantic Water into the Arctic....
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Research brief: How strong currents influence Tasmania’s marine heatwaves

The near‐surface waters off eastern Tasmania represent both a global warming and a biodiversity hotspot. Marine ecosystems there are under significant stress. The sensitivity of...
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Research brief: Why record-breaking droughts had very different impacts on Amazon forests

In 2005, the Amazon experienced a once-in-a-century drought. Five years later, in 2010, it was struck by a worse drought, with even lower rainfall occurring in the...
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Research brief: New downscaling approach will help urban planners prepare for future rainfall

Picture (above): Rainy city. Credit: Yosomono. When designing urban water infrastructure, planners rely on historical rain gauge observations to quantify the intensity, duration...
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CLEX Research programs

Extreme rainfall

Drought

Heatwaves and cold air outbreaks

Climate variability and teleconnections