A visiting international academic to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga throws new light on climate change by asserting the gradual breakdown of the Earth’s water cycles caused by land clearing is playing a major role in climate change. Hosted by CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, Professor Jan Pokorný, a plant physiologist from the Czech Republic will present his controversial views in a meeting to be held in Albury starting at 3pm on Wednesday 23 March. “The circulation of water in nature is driven by solar energy and takes place through 'large' [global] and 'small' [local] water cycles. Humanity, through activities such as agriculture and forestry systematically transforms natural land into cultured land, which accelerates the runoff of rainwater from land and increases the temperature of the land,” says Professor Pokorný. “The local water balance is disturbed and gradually breaks down over land. Global climate change is seen to be caused by human activities, where land clearing affects water drainage which causes temperatures to rise and trigger more climatic extremes: more frequent flooding, longer periods of drought and an increase in the water shortage in regions worldwide.”