Seven days without sunshine: a record in Australia's capital

In the past week, from February 27 to March 4, the sun didn’t shine in drought-affected Canberra, the capital of Australia. Six years of drought was almost broken during a week of unprecedented rain – in fact, it was a 60-year record: the biggest Canberra wet since July 31 to August 6, 1950.

On February 27, 4.4mm was recorded; 5.6mm on February 28; 29.8mm on February 29; 59.2mm on March 1; 31.8mm on March 2; 0.8mm on March 3; and 62.0mm on March 4.

Nearly 200 millimetres (193.6mm) fell at Canberra Airport during the seven days, although only 75mm was recorded in the suburbs. Seven consecutive cloudy days produced three times its average March rainfall (163.2mm in March so far, out of an average of 50.7mm). The wettest March on record was 243.6mm in 1989. With March only barely into its first week, more rain is predicted for the remainder of the month.

The wet week also produced record number of visitors to the National Museum.

Other areas in New South Wales have experienced flooding due to extreme downpours. Reservoirs in the region that were barely a third full during the height of the drought in 2009 are now 100% capacity.

Does the rain mark the end of Canberra’s drought? Some think not. While the reservoirs nearby are full, Lake George on the outskirts of Canberra is not. In fact, its name is affectionately just “George” because it hasn’t been a lake for a long time—just a wide, shallow depression. Canberra locals won’t recognize that the drought is over until Lake George can be called a lake, without a touch of irony.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Shindi: the Georgian Cornelian cherry

The Cornelian cherry – shindi in Georgian – is a fruit with medicinal and decorative properties. It was grown from ancient times, according to the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). It is also commonly called the European cornel. It is native to southern Europe from France to Ukraine as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The Cornelian cherry tree ( Cornus mas ) can be grown in orchards, but it is often seen in the forests of Georgia where it grows up to 1,350 metres above sea level. It is a medium to large deciduous tree, growing from 5-12 metres tall. The flowers are small with four yellow petals in clusters, which flower in February and March. The Cornus mas has three botanical varieties: (1) var. typica Sanadze with cylindrical red fruits, (2) var. pyriformis Sanadze with pear-shaped red fruits, and (3) var. flava vest with yellow fruits. The fruits are oblong red drupes about 2 centimetres ...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog