Seasonal Climate Outlook Message for April to July 2007

The bottom line

Climate Change Workshops David McRae 11th April 2007

Interested in climate change? Want to know why it is in the media every day and what the fuss and controversy is about? DPI&F and the Cotton Communities CRC are running some Climate Change workshops. The 3 hour workshops are open to anyone and aim to cover the basics of climate change - the causes, the evidence, the uncertainties and the likely impacts. The workshops also aim to have a general discussion on what adaptation strategies there may be for agriculture, business and rural communities.

Workshops are planned for Dalby on the 24th April at the RSL starting at 9am, St George on the 26th April at the Balonne Skill Centre starting at 2pm, Goondiwindi on the 27th April at the Goondiwindi Training and Tech Centre starting at 9:30am and Emerald on the 1st May at the Qld DPI&F Conference Rooms starting at 9am. For more details or to RSVP for catering contact David McRae on (07) 46881459 or e-mail david.mcrae@dpi.qld.gov.au

As at time of writing (11th April) the MJO is expected in late April (20th - 25th April). Northern Australia received widespread rain during the last MJO, and from the associated monsoon trough, however, this did not push very far south. The next passage will be the last opportunity for an MJO induced burst of monsoonal activity for the 06-07 summer wet season. Last autumn the timing of the MJO also corresponded with pre-planting rains in many Australian wheat growing regions. It will be interesting to see what, if any rainfall events it triggers. Widespread rain is still needed promote pasture growth and improve soil moisture levels for the coming winter cropping season.

The MJO is a band of low air pressure originating off the east coast of central Africa travelling eastward across the Indian Ocean and northern Australia roughly every 30 to 60 days. Research has shown the MJO to be a useful indicator of the timing of potential rainfall events (but not amounts). For more information try www.apsru.gov.au/mjo/