After confirming that a La Nina weather event is currently taking place for the third year in a row and would likely continue into the following year, the country’s weather forecaster stated on Tuesday that a significant portion of Australia will be subject to unusually heavy rains in the coming months.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has stated that the weather pattern that is known to produce wet and windy summers in the country has begun, despite the fact that it had previously predicted that there was a high chance of it happening. This has caused the bureau to tighten its guidance for this year regarding the weather pattern.
As a result of the warning, the highly populated east coast of the country is on high alert. This comes at a time when many citizens are still repairing their homes after flooding caused by the most recent La Nina, which lasted until early 2022.
According to a statement released by the bureau, the weather phenomenon was one of the factors that would “push Australia’s climate towards a wetter phase and… have shaped our outlook for the coming months that shows more than an 80% chance of above average rainfall for many parts of the eastern half of Australia.”
In the late 2019 and early 2020 time period in Australia, wild weather swings caused the country to experience its worst bushfires in a generation. This was followed by two La Nina patterns, which caused rivers to swell beyond their banks and rendered thousands of homes uninhabitable due to flooding.
“This is not good news for communities, businesses, homeowners, and renters who are living or operating out of buildings and dwellings that are at risk from inundation,” said Mark Gibbs, an adjunct professor with Queensland University of Technology’s Institute for Future Environments. “This is not good news for communities, businesses, homeowners, and renters who are living or operating out of buildings and dwellings that are at risk from inundation.”
“This may be particularly problematic for those that are still recovering from recent floods, particularly in light of the present challenges in securing the services of builders and building suppliers,” he added. “This is especially the case in light of the fact that there are currently challenges in securing the services of builders and building suppliers.”
Because of La Nina, sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean are lower than normal, whilst waters in the western tropical Pacific are warmer than normal. This causes the formation of moisture, which in turn sends rain to the eastern and central regions of Australia.
