EDITORIAL: Not so extreme weather

In recent years the weather has become a news item all on its own.

Coverage of so-called extreme weather events has driven many an Australian news bulletin.
In fact, networks and news services spring to life at even the hint of a cyclone, storm or flood. It's all hands on deck as journalists and camera operators are dispatched to the affected area post haste, desperate to uncover a weather-induced hardship or tragedy.
Media consumers are spun tales about how crazy the weather has become, though in reality, data shows we are experiencing no unusual or sudden changes to our long-term weather patterns, including the instances of 'extreme’ conditions.
Increased resources have made it easier to cover - or some would say uncover – any vaguely newsworthy weather events, which has contributed to the flood of weather-related news items we are presented with on a regular basis.
To illustrate the point, take the news releases of one particular information source used by many Australian media outlets, including The Murray Pioneer.
This outlet has a habit of making dramatic sounding announcements that actually, when you get past the headline, aren’t that dramatic at all.
Recently they trumpeted that Adelaide had experienced "its warmest and driest year since 2009". Hardly extreme.
This week’s hot weather, which technically was not a heat wave, sparked a myriad of news reports on the ‘chaos’ it created.
It seems ‘extreme’ weather has never been bigger news. Whether it’s actually extreme or otherwise is immaterial.