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Taylor's left. So has ScoMo. And today, summer will make its exit.
Its valedictory will be a scorcher of a day for south-eastern Australia. Not a heatwave, we're told, but a heat spike, a new term in the weather lexicon. Short, sharp and uncomfortable. A fitting end to a season that's defied predictions and baffled us.
The hot, dry El Nino about which we warned at the start of the season has delivered rain and suffocating humidity on the east coast. Lawns mowed in the morning (when rain permits) look scruffy again by the afternoon. Councils fight a losing battle keeping the verges and median strips tidy.
Meanwhile, hardened Western Australians have wilted through a season of scorching heat and relentless sun - and the bushfires which go with them - which is only just moderating.
And now, as autumn approaches, the meteorologists are predicting the return of La Nina and, yes, more wet weather.
According to the Climate Council, abnormally warm waters off the east coast may have moderated the drying effect of El Nino by sending rain onto the east coast. And this summer's movement further south of the westerly winds in the Southern Ocean - the southern annular mode - has also whipped up wet weather for the east coast.
The dire predictions of an El Nino drought led some farmers to destock, which in turn saw lamb prices tumble - even if this wasn't passed on to consumers. The Bureau of Meteorology, which held off declaring an El Nino, copped angry criticism for being wrong about warning of a dry spell when it finally did.
As the hot, dry spring morphed into the wet, sticky summer, many people were asking what had happened to El Nino. The past three months showed us our notions of the weather pattern we associate with below average rainfall was not set in stone - but it would have helped if meteorologists had explained this from the outset.
Conversations also shifted, as the word climate seemed to enter discussions about the weather.
If its departure means a return to more predictable weather and reduced humidity, I'll be happy to see off summer.
It means liberation from the lawns, to which my whole neighbourhood has been enslaved for the past three months. It means better sleep. And hopefully some blue skies, at least until La Nina arrives.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Did you find the weather this summer unusual? Have you lost faith in predictions about the weather? What is your favourite season and why? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Minor parties and independents appear set for sizeable support at the Tasmanian election, with polling suggesting more than a third of voters will snub the Liberals and Labor. The island state heads to the polls on March 23.
- Australians are opting for the peace and quiet of country communities over busy capital cities. The Regional Movers Index (RMI) net internal migration data shows regional NSW was attracting the most new residents with 36 per cent of sea-changers and tree-changers choosing the area.
- Six men have been charged, including several linked to a Melbourne crime syndicate, after police busted an attempt to import more than 10 million cigarettes illegally into Victoria. The shipment of illicit tobacco, worth $15 million, was intercepted at a Victorian dock on February 3.
THEY SAID IT: "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get." - Mark Twain
YOU SAID IT: A huge fuss over asbestos in mulch and a deafening silence over the harmful chemicals we expose ourselves to every day.
Sue writes: "Our governments do little to protect us from exposure to harmful chemicals until they have their collective noses rubbed into the fact that the chemicals are harmful. What they can avoid knowing they can't be held responsible for. The lower you are on the social totem pole, the less likely you are to be protected. Unlike big business we ordinary folk can not make large-scale contributions to the political coffers, nor are we in a position to challenge the big business spin which insists all these things are wonderful. The facts were out there about asbestos well before the 60s."
"Love your daily articles," writes Peter. "Having lost half a lung to asbestosis, after rolling around in Mr Fluffy's handiwork as an electrician for many years in the Canberra region, I am wary of most man-made substances. Poly-styrofoam, plastics, paints, cleaning products, even stained wood makes me sit back and ponder on what has been added to them. However food products are the biggest worry these days. Chemical insecticide sprays, food acids, emulsifiers, gelling agents, colour enhancers, cooking oils and don't get me started on how they can get chooks to grow to their full size in six to eight weeks. Is that the reason our generation of kids are bigger and taller than all of us?"
Tony writes: "It seems to me that humanity is slow to learn and quickly forgets. Asbestosis, silicosis, radioactive pollution, oil and gas. Plastic seemed to be a wonderful product but now we're drowning in the stuff. The research is correct, we need to stop the production of these chemicals."
"There are over 3000 PFAS chemicals of which 600 are in commercial use," writes Philip. "Very few of these have been tested and of those mainly on rodents at high doses. Epidemiological studies while not conclusive certainly raise concerns."
Bruce writes: "Governments have a poor record of regulating harmful chemicals in Australia with the federal department charged with this responsibility largely 'captured' by the chemical industry. An example: here in north west Tasmania potato crops are sprayed up to eight times during the growth cycle with various herbicides, insecticides etc. If you can afford it, buy organic."
"This article reminded me of the one that you wrote on January 1, 2023, in The Canberra Times: 'Chemical romance or toxic relationship: knowing your EDCs'," writes Irene. "I found this article so confronting I cut it out and I have shown it to many of my friends. Echidna still wakes me up in the morning, kick starts my brain. What an excellent way to start my day."