The culprit behind east Australia's big dry

Average Australian rainfall for the first nine months of the year has been the lowest since 1965, made worse by poor cool-season rains. Image Nick Moir Average Australian rainfall for the first nine months of the year has been the lowest since 1965, made worse by poor cool-season rains.CREDIT:NICK MOIR
20 October 2019

When leading climate scientist Matthew England began work at a lab in Hobart in the mid-1980s, visitors were greeted by a huge graphic depicting a tight correlation between El Ninos and Australia's farm yields.

Any government minister would leave understanding that "we’ve got a tremendous amount of economic wealth" dependent on Pacific climate influences, making El Nino research "iconic", England says.

It turns out more attention should have been paid to the Indian Ocean.

Read the full story in the Sydney Morning Herald including commentary from Assoc Prof Nerilie Abram.  

Updated:  21 October 2019/Responsible Officer:  College of Science/Page Contact:  https://iceds.anu.edu.au/contact