Scott Power

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I am a climate scientist working on climate variability and climate change, with a focus on how natural variability and externally influenced change combine to shape observed climate and projections of future change.

Over more than three decades, I have contributed to research on climate variability, climate change and extremes, particularly in the tropical Pacific and its influence on Australia and the broader Indo-Pacific region. This includes work on the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, and their interactions with climate change, published in journals such as Science, Nature, Nature Climate Change, Nature Geoscience, Nature Food, Climate Dynamics, and the Journal of Climate.

I was a Coordinating Lead Author for IPCC Working Group I and a member of the Core Writing Team for the IPCC Synthesis Report that informed the Paris Agreement. I have also held senior scientific leadership roles at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, including Head of Climate Change Research and Head of Climate Monitoring and Prediction Services, and was Director of the Centre for Applied Climate Sciences at the University of Southern Queensland.

I have also contributed to collaborative programs to strengthen climate science capability and climate services in Pacific Island Countries, working with national meteorological services and regional organisations. These programs have supported the use of climate information in managing droughts, floods and climate risk, and contributed to regional scientific capability.

I am an Adjunct Professor in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University and in the Centre for Applied Climate Sciences at the University of Southern Queensland.

Selected publications are given below.

Experience

  • 2020–present
    Adjunct Professor (Climate Science and Rainfall Projections), Monash University
  • 2023–present
    Adjunct Professor (Applied Climate Science), UniSQ
  • 2021–2023
    Director, Centre for Applied Climate Sciences, UniSQ
  • 2000–2020
    International Development Officer, Bureau of Meteorology
  • 2010–2020
    Senior Principal Research Scientist, Bureau of Meteorology
  • 2016–2017
    Head of Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology

Education

  • 1991 
    McGill University, Canada, Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • 1990 
    UNSW, PhD
  • 1985 
    Monash University, BSc (Hons, first class)
  • 1983 
    Monash University, Diploma in Education
  • 1981 
    Monash University, BSc

Publications

  • 2026
    Covariability in large-scale climate modes: implications for Australian precipitation variability, Journal of Climate
  • 2025
    Climate impacts of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Australia, Nature Reviews: Earth & Environment
  • 2025
    Improved estimates of future precipitation change in climate models, npj Climate & Atmospheric Sciences
  • 2022
    Vapour pressure deficit determines critical thresholds for global coffee production under climate change, Nature Food
  • 2021
    Decadal climate variability in the tropical Pacific: Characteristics and causes, predictability and prospects, Science
  • 2021
    More accurate quantification of model-to-model agreement in externally forced climatic responses over the coming century, Nature Communications
  • 2020
    The Impact of Anthropogenic Forcing and Natural Processes on Past, Present, and Future Rainfall over Victoria, Australia, Journal of Climate
  • 2017
    Apparent limitations in the ability of CMIP5 climate models to simulate recent multi-decadal change in surface temperature: implications for global temperature projections, Climate Dynamics
  • 2014
    The varied impacts of El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Pacific island climates, Journal of Climate
  • 2013
    Robust twenty-first-century projections of El Niño and related precipitation variability, Nature

Professional Memberships

  • Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
  • American Meteorological Society

Research Areas

  • Climate Change Processes (040104)

Honours

Australian Meterological and Oceanographic Society's Zillman Medal 2021; Innovative Research and Mentoring Award, Pacific Meteorological Council, 2019; Honorary Professor, University of Queensland, 2016-2019; Bureau Excellence Award 2016.

Contact Scott for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision