New Zealand's drought

The Department of Conservation said it has rescue plans in place for native fish species if the drought deepens in Otago.

Our biosphere is a complex system of interwoven habitats and species. When you have to rescue fish in a river and humans are pollinating fruit trees in China by hand because the bees have died off surely it dawns on people that we are in a time of abrupt climate change and the biosphere is collapsing?

The “in ten years” bit does not begin to reflect the reality.

South Canterbury in worst drought for ten years

Federated Farmers in South Canterbury says the region is experiencing its worst drought in ten years

Radio New Zealand,

1 February, 2015

Its president, Ivon Hurst, said sheep farmers have been offloading lambs since December and the market is flooded.

But he said dairy farmers are more vulnerable because they do not have the same flexibility.

Mr Hurst says the Opuha Dam, which supplies 170 properties, has just three weeks of water left, which means farmers will have to make decisions fast.

He said with no significant rain forecast for the region, there was no relief in иsight.

A forecaster says some rain could be on its way in the coming week to provide relief to parched farmers in Otago and South Canterbury.

Farmers on the eastern side of the South Island have been experiencing a long spell of hot dry weather since a dry spring last year.

A National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research forecaster, Chris Brandolino, said rain was due in some areas.

He said in Southland, Otago, and South Canterbury there was likely to be meaningful falls which should give relief to farmers.

But the prospect of rain in central and northern areas of Canterbury was less likely, he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Conservation said it has rescue plans in place for native fish species if the drought deepens in Otago.

Dunedin conservation services manager David Agnew said fish are dying but populations are not yet in crisis.

David Agnew said the Department of Conservation was working with Fish and Game, Ngai Tahu and the regional council to monitor fish stocks in the region's rivers.

He was confident there was still enough water and sufficient numbers of fish that when the rain returned and the rivers started running, populations would bounce back.

This report is from last year. You will have to look hard for anyone to join the dots.

We had a crippling drought in the North Island in 2013: eels died in Canterbury rivers for lack of water; and we have another drought that covers most of the country if you look at the soil moisture deficit maps.

New report links 2013 drought and climate change

Scoop,

30 September, 2014

A new report on global extreme weather events confirms climate change was a factor in last year’s crippling North Island drought.

“Scientists are generally wary of linking single weather events to climate change, so this is a significant acknowledgement of the role man-made climate change played what was one of the worst droughts in New Zealand’s history,” said Green Party climate change spokesperson Dr Kennedy Graham.

The report, “Explaining extreme events of 2013 from a climate perspective”, was published overnight in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

In a section entitled “The role of anthropogenic climate change in the 2013 drought over the North Island, New Zealand” it says models show “meteorological drivers were more favourable for drought as a result of anthropogenic climate change”.

“The 2013 drought cost the New Zealand economy billions of dollars,” said Dr Graham.

“We should be doing everything we can to avoid a repeat, yet National continues to sit on its hands over climate change.

“Under National, New Zealand’s net emissions have risen 20 per cent and are projected to rise by another 50 percent in the next 10 years.

“National has failed to implement both effective climate change mitigation policies, and appropriate adaptation measures.

“As a result, New Zealand’s emissions continue to climb, and there is no national strategy to deal with the increasing threat of extreme weather.

“Over six years in office, National has failed New Zealanders on climate, and unless it changes tack in its third term, it risks further damage, including the fallout from extreme weather events,” said Dr Graham.

The Green Party would scrap National’s failed emissions trading scheme and introduce a fair and transparent tax on carbon, the revenue from which would be returned to households and businesses in the form of tax cuts.

The Green Party also has a range of complementary measures to help New Zealand transition to a low-carbon economy and reduce its emissions.