|
 Cold
in the NT
The
continuing cold airmass brought minimum temperatures 8 to 11 below normal
over much of the NT away from the coast this morning. The extensive
burst of southern air has been breaking records and causing extensive
frost damage across eastern and central Austalia since the start
of the
month. The low of 4.6 at Alice Springs was 10.2 below the October norm,
while Ali Curung, halfway between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek, recorded
its second lowest October minimum in 15 years of record with a reading of 9.0.
80%
of NSW still
in drought
September
drought figures for NSW, issued today by the Agriculture and Fisheries
Minister Ian Macdonald, show that 78.9% of the state is still officially
in drought despite recent rain. The figure is up 2% on August. Parts of Hume
and Moree had come out of drought since last month, but the South Coast,
Maitland, Brewarrina and part of Moss Vale had gone back into drought. Parts
of the Monaro are experiencing a critical water situation, with springs in
the Moonbah area, 10km SW of Jindabyne, reported to be dry for the first
time in at least 50 years.
The wheat harvest for the state is expected to
be down by 30%, while rice and
cotton yields are also expected to be low. In the Parkes area, the District
Agronomist, Karen Roberts, estimated that average wheat losses would be 50%
with quite a few crops experiencing losses of up to 100%. "Two weeks of very
hot, windy conditions during September really knocked the majority of crops
around," she said. "Adding to this problem was the fact that September ...
entered the record books as one of the driest September months ever [Parkes
recorded 4.4mm for the month]." While there were falls of 10 to 50mm early
in October, she said the falls hadn't
occurred where it was needed
most. "It really was a case of too little too late to save many crops. A fortnight
earlier would have been much more useful to those crops suffering stress caused
by lack of moisture. But it has really been the unseasonal frosts - in particular
two severe frosts with several hours of below zero temperatures - that has
just about been the
final straw."
News sources: AAP, ABC, Parkes Champion-Post |
