Intensifying El Nino grim news for towns
THE drought- bearing El Niño is intensifying, prompting forecasters to warn of the likelihood of worsening conditions.
Rapidly changing conditions have forced weather bureau staff to revise their seasonal forecast, tipping the October to December period to be drier than estimated.
The current El Niño is the strongest in 17 years. Climate prediction manager Andrew Watkins said last month’s forecast had been revised because of sea surface cooling in waters to Australia’s northwest.
When cooling occurred, it reinforced the impact of the Pacific Ocean’s El Niño. Cli- matologists had been hoping that exceptionally warm Indian Ocean waters would continue to ameliorate El Niño conditions.
“Since we released the climate outlook, there has been a significant shift toward a drier October for much of Australia,’’ Dr Watkins said.
He said and hotter continent.
It comes with small towns in the state’s northwest facing the threat of extinction as the worst drought on record combines with the mining downturn to prompt a generation to head for the coast.
Mount Isa MP Robbie Katter is joining his father and federal Kennedy MP Bob Katter on a tour of towns from Hughenden to Mount Isa to highlight a problem they said had the potential to turn communities into ghost towns.
Rodger Jefferis, who operates Elrose Station near Cloncurry, said the double whammy of mining downturn and drought had created un- it would be drier right across the precedented hardship. “You can’t find a paddock to agist cattle between here and the Queensland border,” Mr Jefferis said.
Robbie Katter said while the drought was devastating towns in his electorate, a range of State Government policy decisions in previous years were crushing small councils.
“Councils are still the biggest employer in many of these towns, excluding mining, but they are struggling with everwidening responsibilities not matched by increased funding,” he said.
Where once the Government handled responsibilities such as health inspections on cafes, stock routes and even pools, it now falls to councils.