It’s normally associated with copious rainfall, but this time around, La Nina has failed to deliver.
While the east coast of Australia has received some rain over the last few months, inland Australia has missed out.
It’s a very unusual event, and one that some scientists say has not occurred for many decades.
ABC News: ‘Farmland misses out on La Nina rains’
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/melbourne-rainfall-hits-record-low/2007/11/02/1193619147568.html
“MELBOURNE has received less than 3000 millimetres of rain in the past six years, a record low that highlights the severity of the state’s drought.
Only 2974 millimetres fell over Melbourne from November 2001 to October 2007, beating the previous low of 3330 millimetres for a six-year period, set in 1904.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s special climate statement, released yesterday, showed the Murray-Darling Basin experienced its equal-driest six-year period, matching the previous record dry of 1939-45.
But bureau climate chief Michael Coughlan said the present situation was worse in some respects. “Two things make it more severe. The temperatures are much warmer now than they were then, and a bigger population means there is much greater demand on water supplies,” Dr Coughlan said.”
Global Warming bites again. A bigger population was expected, but you add AGW into the mix, and it pushes us over the edge. People don’t seem to understand, the natural world has many stresses it regularly encounters. Add to those stresses with AGW, and problems become a lot worse. A drought that was going to be bad is going to hit the native wildlife a lot harder.
It appears that the conditions which hindered la nina have abated somewhat, moist air streaming down from the tropics has given spring a monsoonal flavour.