Australasia is defined here as lands, territories, offshore waters, and oceanic islands of the
exclusive economic zones of Australia and New Zealand. Both countries are relatively
wealthy, with export-led economies. Both have Westminster-style political systems and have
a relatively recent history of non-indigenous settlement (Australia in the late 18th, New
Zealand in the early 19th century). Both retain significant indigenous populations. Principal
findings from the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) for the region were (Hennessy et …

Observed changes and impacts Ongoing climate trends have exacerbated many extreme
events (very high confidence). The Australian trends include further warming and sea level
rise sea level rise (SLR), with more hot days and heatwaves, less snow, more rainfall in the
north, less April–October rainfall in the southwest and southeast and more extreme fire
weather days in the south and east. The New Zealand trends include further warming and
sea level rise (SLR), more hot days and heatwaves, less snow, more rainfall in the south …