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State of the Environment (SoE) reporting themes

Atmosphere

In SoE 2011 this theme differs from previous reports in that it considers climate change at length—and its implications for the Australian environment—as well as ambient air quality.

This chapter is divided into two sections: climate, and ambient air quality and other atmospheric issues. The climate section discusses the influence of GHGs, particularly those generated by human activities, on Earth's climate and some of the likely impacts of global climate change on human health and the environment. The second part of the chapter discusses other aspects of the atmosphere, including stratospheric ozone, ambient air quality and indoor air quality. (SoE 2011, 3 Atmosphere - 1 Introduction)

Key findings

SoE 2011:

• Earth is warming.
• Large step-changes in climate may occur.
• We are already seeing changes in Australia's variable climate.
• Major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are urgently needed nationally and internationally.
• We will need both a national approach and approaches at the state and territory level to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
• Despite the success of the Montreal Protocol in controlling ozone depleting substances (ODSs), depletion of stratospheric ozone will continue for some decades.
• Australia has met its targets in controlling ODSs.
• Ambient air quality in Australia's major urban centres is generally good.
• Despite this broadly favourable situation, the impact of urban air quality on health is still a matter of serious concern.
• Management of pollution affecting our air quality is generally good, but ongoing effort will be required to secure past gains and achieve further improvements.
• Most Australians spend more than 90% of their time indoors.

For more details see SoE 2011 - Atmosphere: Key findings

SoE 2006:

• Urban air quality continues to improve.
• In rural and regional Australia, levels of most pollutants are well below actual or proposed standards.
• This reflects a general concern with a range of air toxics from both urban areas and regional industry, but no indicators report the trends at this stage.
• Other issues for regional air quality include odour from agricultural activity and waste treatment, but there are no indicators to demonstrate the trends in this concern.
• Accumulation of total chlorine from ozone-depleting gases in the stratosphere slowed during the early 1990s and levels are now declining slowly.
• Unfortunately, skin cancer incidence may be expected to continue to increase until about 2050, even though ozone levels in the stratosphere have started to recover.
• In 2002, Australia changed the methodology used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions to follow the accounting procedures recommended in the Kyoto Protocol by including land clearing.
• The Australian average surface temperature continues to rise.
• 2005 was Australia's warmest year on record, with the annual mean temperature for Australia being 1.09°C above the 1961–90 average.

For more details see SoE 2006 - Atmosphere: Key points

Related information

SoE 2011:

• Australia State of the Environment 2011: Chapter 3. Atmosphere
  • 3 Atmosphere (PDF - 7,442 KB)
• Supplementary material
  • Assessing the condition of ambient air (PDF - 1,202 KB) | (Word - 373 KB)
    This paper presents percentage frequency distributions of the Air Quality Index categories for eight state and territory capitals and a small number of major regional or industrial centres, based on analysis of air quality monitoring data for ozone and particles (PM10) collected in accordance with protocols under the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure.

SoE 2006:

• Australia State of the Environment 2006: Chapter 4. Atmosphere
• Australia State of the Environment 2006 AT A GLANCE
• Atmosphere - Theme commentary
• Living in a land of fire - Integrative commentary
• Living in a variable climate - Integrative commentary
• Progress in accessing environmental data and information - Integrative commentary
• What do Australians think about protecting the environment? - Current or emerging issues paper
• Data Reporting System - Theme: Atmosphere

SoE 2001:

• Australia State of the Environment 2001: Thematic findings - Atmosphere
• Key Findings Brochure
• Atmosphere Theme Report
• Climate Extremes: Indicators for State of the Environment Monitoring - Technical paper
• Environmental indicators for national state of the environment reporting: Atmosphere

SoE 1996:

• Australia State of the Environment 1996: Chapter 5 - The Atmosphere
• Key Findings from the First Independent National Report
• Air Quality and Human Health - Technical paper
• Indoor Air Quality - Technical paper