For the third year in a row, flood-ravaged eastern Australia is likely to face new extreme weather conditions in the coming months. Forecasting institutes confirmed on Tuesday that a La Nina phenomenon would occur again.
The National Meteorological Office said La Nina, a weather phenomenon that brings downpours to Australia’s heavily populated east coast, is likely to peak in the spring and above-average rainfall is expected to last throughout Southern Hemisphere summer.
La Nina, a climatic phenomenon originating from a thermal anomaly of the equatorial surface waters of the Pacific Ocean, normally occurs every two to seven years and has a significant impact on weather patterns around the world.
Triple Nina
A triple Nina – in which the phenomenon spans three consecutive Northern Hemisphere winters or three consecutive Southern Hemisphere summers – has only occurred three times since the Bureau of Meteorology began collecting data. in 1900, the last of which in 1998-2001.
The east of the country is still recovering from the intense storms and floods of the beginning of the year, caused by the previous episode. Hundreds of thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes in Sydney’s wettest summer in 30 years. Meteorologist Ben Domensino described the torrent of rain to AFP as an “atmospheric river”.
Possible flooding
Carlene York, from the New South Wales State Emergency Services, said on Tuesday there was a “very real possibility of flooding” given that rivers were still swollen and dams full. “If you live in a flood zone, I urge you to take steps to prepare now,” she said. The New South Wales emergency services had already said at the end of June that they had never been so busy as in the past year up to June 30.
Australia is on the frontline of the consequences of climate change, with floods, bushfires, cyclones and droughts becoming more frequent and intense as the planet heats up, scientists warn.