• Arid and semi-arid regions will therefore be particularly sensitive to reduced rainfall and to increased evaporation.

• Beyond the Blue Mountains (just west of Sydney) lies an immense continents with an area of 7.5 million square kilometres of lateritic soil, arid and dusty, covered by scrub vegetation: the Australian outback.

• Ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to climate change include fynbos, some rangelands (including the Karoo), cloud/montane forests, and wetlands (especially riparian) in arid/semi-arid areas.