Professor Hamish McGowan

Professor, School of the Environment, UQ Faculty of Science

Professor Hamish McGowan is a Geographer and Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences with research interests in: Severe weather (thunderstorms, bushfire meteorology), Earth surface – atmosphere energy and trace gas exchanges, Aeolian processes (meteorological controls on wind erosion, dust transport and the impacts on regional and global climate dynamics), Palaeoclimate reconstructions, Mountain meteorology and hydroclimate. He leads the Weather and Climate Science Research Alliance.

Hamish received his PhD from the University of Canterbury in 1995. His research interests are in the fields of:

Meteorological hazards
Earth surface - atmosphere interactions and energetics
The Weather and Climates of Alpine and Mountainous Regions
Long Range Dust Transport and Climate Impacts
Climate dynamics

Dec. 21, 2025

Where Are We At With Climate Science?

Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening, to me, and most of the sane world, given that climate change promises more frequent and intense storms, as well as droughts, and floods. Forecasters and meteorologists rely on centuries of observations and modelling. Data is now available in exponentially greater volume and distribution and using it are not just humans, but computers with learning Artificial Intelligence that are trying to predict what even a tiny change might do to the weather across the entire planet. What if we could predict not just the size of hail, but where it will land, as well as what areas are more prone to lightning, and how to improve food security in the rapidly changing climate? Professor Hamish McGowan is a Geographer and Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences. He leads the Weather and Climate Science Research Alliance at the University of Queensland.

Guest: Professor Hamish McGowan

Listen to the Episode