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Record hot end 2015 for Australia as giant El Niño dominates
Posted by Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on January 7th, 2016
Morning Herald: Australia has posted its hottest end to any year as the impact of one of the biggest El Ninos on record began to be felt across the continent.
Mean temperatures were 0.36 degrees above the previous record for the October to December period, capping what was Australia's fifth-hottest year since the Bureau of Meteorology began keeping national figures in 1910.
2015 was another hot year for Australia - and the hottest on record for the world.
"For temperatures, it was a year of two halves -...
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‘The Blob’ warm pool in Pacific may prolong life monster El Niño
Posted by Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on November 4th, 2015
Morning Herald: The powerful "Great Godzilla" El Nino in the Pacific may last as much as two months longer than expected because of another unusual climate phenomenon scientists have nick-named "The Blob". First observed in 2013, the huge "blob" of abnormally warm water extends from the Californian coast far into the Pacific. (See chart below from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.) One effect is that the winds that blow westward during an El Nino are much further north than they would normally...
Heating up: July added to string of record hot months globally
Posted by Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on August 16th, 2015
Morning Herald: July was the hottest on record globally as a large El Nino event gathered strength in the Pacific, making it more likely that 2015 will exceed last year as the warmest year recorded.
Average land and sea-surface temperatures worldwide were 0.38 degrees above the 1981-2010 average, easily exceeding the previous record July anomaly of 0.30 degrees set in 1998, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The record for July is likely to be matched by other agencies in coming days, such as the US National...
Australia: Drought spreads key farming areas as El Niño gets going
Posted by Morning Herald: Peter Hannam on July 6th, 2015
Morning Herald: Australia's drought-hit regions are expanding in the lower Murray-Darling Basin as key climate influences in the Indian and Pacific oceans tilt towards drier conditions.
While June brought bumper rains to western parts of NSW, "a substantial area" of south-eastern South Australia and western Victoria has posted record-low rainfall over the past 12 months, the Bureau of Meteorology said in its latest drought update.
"Serious or severe rainfall deficiencies have been observed in parts of the...