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. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall: book review

The Beggar’sStrike (1979 in French and 1981 in English) is set in an unstated country in West Africa in a city known only as The Capital. Undoubtedly, Senegalese author Sow Fall writes of her own experiences. It was also encapsulated in the 2000 film, Battu , directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko from Mali. Mour Ndiaye is the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene, with the opportunity of a distinguished and coveted promotion to Vice-President of the Republic. Tourism has declined and the government blames the local beggars in The Capital. Ndiaye must rid the streets of beggars, according to a decree from the Minister. Ndiaye instructs his department to carry out weekly raids. One of the raids leads to the death of lame beggar, Madiabel, who ran into an oncoming vehicle as he tried to escape, leaving two wives and eight children. Soon after, another raid resulted in the death of the old well-loved, comic beggar Papa Gorgui Diop. Enough is enou

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog