By Melissa Coleman
An amateur meteorologist from Stanthorpe has studied rain charts dating back to the 1800 in a bid to know more about climate change.
Grant Matthews, a local resident for more than 50 years, believes that the climate is changing.
Rather than succumbing to the belief that it is due to fossil fuels, he believes it is changing in natural cycles.
When I went to see Grant his genuine interest in the weather struck me as authentic.
He wasn’t trying to call in on the long-standing debate of climate change and fossil fuels, rather he wanted to find unbiased answers to justify the changes in the weather, then form his decision.
Grant says he has a love of numbers and when he started investigating, he could see a pattern emerging.
“Initially I completed one graph, then my curiosity exploded from there.”
Grant’s mission is to look into the data of precipitation to find out where and if it has changed over the years and by how much it had changed.
“I do believe in climate change, but my question is how much is actually man-made.”
He has been pouring over data from the Bureau of Meteorology and old local newspapers to compile extensive findings related to Stanthorpe on annual rainfall, 10 yearly cycles, monthly rainfall and extreme weather events.
His written charts date back to 1873 and extend into 2022.
“I don’t use a computer, I don’t know how to create charts on one, so I use pen and paper,” he said.
Grant has found that in Stanthorpe the average yearly rainfall is 755ml.
Interestingly he also discovered that there is a 90-year rain cycle.
“There’s no significant change in the 90-year cycle,” he said.
The full extent of the 10-year graph showed that at the minimum rainfall level of the first half of the 90-year cycle, it showed a below average rainfall then peaked in the second half of the 90 years.
Grant said the 1910-1919 drought is where it bottoms out, then a lack of rainfall culminated in the drought from 2000-2009, which resulted in another peak giving you a 90-year cycle.
The numerous graphs also showed that over a 149-year period there was insignificant difference in rainfall measurements.
Grant’s finding indicate that the first ninety years of the graph prove that limiting the use of fossil fuels is not the answer because the second ninety years shows very little difference.
“Man does make an influence, but the amount that he’s making is very small.”
“So small it’s not enough to warrant all these wind farms and solar panels.”
“It’s a very insignificant difference between the low-level rain events and the high-level events over that period of time,” he said.
To prove this, he said you have to remember that back in the 1800 and early 1900 we didn’t have petrol driven cars however when compared to the second ninety years we obviously have.
His detailed charts and findings have caught the eye of some vignerons in the Granite Belt and Grant happily gives them advice relating to there annual crop and harvest.
