Case Study: Climate Change and Extreme Weather – Using Spatial Data for Impact & Consequence Case Studies

The Solution

Data accessibility and utilisation of spatial data for impact assessment was a key area for improvement, so the first stage of the project involved collating suitable spatial datasets, including climate data, community datasets and historical data, and determining additional extreme weather parameters, such as heat wave metrics derived from climate projection data to support asset impact assessments in later stages.

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Spatial Vision then held a number of stakeholder workshops to determine extreme weather event scenarios and high priority Council assets to be incorporated in a spatially based impact assessment. The impact assessment incorporated asset profiles highlighting the impact of designated extreme weather events on these assets.

Utilising the impact assessment profiles, ‘Consequence of Loss’ case studies were developed for each Council, with detailed user stories to assist the Councils in better understand the implications, both to the asset itself as well as the flow on effect to the community.

In the final stage of the project Spatial Vision worked closely with the four Councils, mentoring and supporting individuals in training sessions to build capacity in utilising the datasets and processes for extreme weather event planning. This stage also encompassed the production of a series of map views visualising the impact of climate change projections across the Barwon Regional Partnership footprint. Spatial Vision also assisted with integration of datasets into Councils’ existing GIS environments, as well providing all project outputs in a customised QGIS based spatial case study deliverable.

The Benefits

The scope of work undertaken helped DELWP and the Councils:

Have better accessibility to the latest climate datasets (particularly related to climate change projections)
Recognise how spatial data can be used to better understand the impact of extreme weather events and associated consequences (i.e. flow-through impacts)
Improve understanding and ability to incorporate likely event impacts on assets into planning
Support lessons learnt from past events through the collation and presentation of previous weather data
Aid both short- and long-term planning (i.e. social vulnerabilities, financial implications, etc.)
Utilise project outputs as an advocacy mechanism to influence best practice policy and resourcing

The Extreme Weather project assists DELWP and the Councils in understanding, planning and mitigating for the likely effects of climate change. It also assists in communicating about such event with other stakeholders and the broader community. If you’d like to know more, please get in touch.

The Issue

The Solution

The Benefits

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