Farming and fishing in the wake of El Nino
How does the periodic warming of the waters of the central Pacific relate to global climate change and food production? In Queensland, Australia, savvy farmers keep a sharp eye on signs of El Nino, which usually brings drought that withers the state`s winter wheat crop. Returning every four years on average and usually lasting approximately a year, El Nino is an unusual warming in the central Pacific that builds storms and disrupts wind patterns, turning weather upside down in far-removed regions. But El Nino took scientists by surprise when it persisted from 1991 to 1995. This was the first time that El Nino had lasted for more than three years since monitoring began in the 1870s. And true to form, El Nino of 1991-1995 brought extreme drought to Queensland, in north-eastern Australia, drying out farmland and costing the state economy approximately $1 billion (Australian) a year. The drought, for example, dropped rainfall levels to all-time lows in Toowoomba, one of the state`s prime cereal-growing regions.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 482366
- Journal Information:
- Bioscience, Vol. 46, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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