Not all El Niño events lead to drought in Australia. Other factors are involved and it will take some time for drought to develop now catchments are wet and most dams are full.
We can now monitor coastal changes across thousands of beaches over the last 40 years, from Australia, New Zealand and Japan, to Chile, Peru, Mexico and California. Here’s what our new tool uncovered.
As with so many staples and foods in the past two years – lettuce, milk and eggs to name a few – the problem is a temporary imbalance between supply and demand. Here’s what’s happening with potatoes.
The latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast offers relief from record rain and floods brought about by La Niña. A longer-term outlook for El Niño is still up in the air – but its arrival would be disastrous.
A heatwave across northern Australia comes as a shock to the system. The impacts of heat are worst in early summer when we’ve had less time to acclimatise, so it’s important to heed health warnings.
Processes like La Niña set the scene for the sort of extreme weather that has hit eastern Australia. But what decides which towns and suburbs are hit hardest, and which ones are spared?
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
A climate scientist explains the forces behind the summer’s extreme downpours and dangerous heat waves, and why new locations will be at risk in the coming year.