Radio Pravda reports on the drought

Stating the obvious.

A great way to have a report not noticed – 10 lines on a Sunday evening

Drought risk a blow for dairy farmers

Dairy farmers suffering low prices could be hit twice over if drought conditions bring a cut in production this summer.

Radio NZ,

23 August, 2015

The risk of drought stems from the return of El Nino to the Pacific.

An El Nino stems from warmer than usual water in the central Pacific and can cool temperatures in winter and reduce rainfall in eastern areas in summer.

The last happened on a large scale in New Zealand in 1997 and 1998.

Official figures show this had a big effect, cutting agricultural production by $425 million over two years, and costing $1 billion in direct and indirect costs.

Any repeat of this would come at a bad time for farmers, with dairy prices still low despite a limited respite this week.

Severe El Niño likely to persist until 2016

Climate forecasters are warning Pacific countries to make long-term preparations for what looks to be one of the worst El Niño events in many years.

Radio NZ,

22 August, 2015

New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) says water temperatures, which dictate El Niño's strength, are already 3-5°C above normal, with the potential to climb even higher in coming months.

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga are already affected by drought, with hundreds of thousands of farmers in PNG's Highlands region losing crops, prompting a national disaster response.

NIWA Forecaster Chris Brandolino said the current El Niño was projected to last well into the new year.

"This could be one of the strongest El Niños we have seen in many years," he said.

"The last super-intense El Niño was back in 1997 and 1998.

"And because El Niño is forecast to persist through the upcoming spring and the upcoming summer in the Southern Hemisphere, it's likely the conditions that will accompany El Niño will also persist."