R O Y A L S O C I E T Y O F N E W Z E A L A N D


Royal Society Alert 178 31 May, 2001

16. EL NIÑO WORKSHOP PRESENTATION SUMMARIES NOW ON-LINE

Droughts and floods are a fact of life for farmers in New Zealand.
Over the
last few decades we have realised that some of these droughts are
associated with the El Niño - Southern Oscillation, a large-scale
pattern
of ocean and atmosphere circulation variation across the Pacific
Ocean. The
1997/98 El Niño had a major impact on New Zealand agriculture. The
New
Zealand Institute of Economic Research estimated that the associated
drought resulted in a loss of $618 million (0.9%) to GDP. This bald
economic figure does not convey the stress, worries and hardship the
drought brought to farmers and the rural community.

The Royal Society Committee on New Zealand Climate organised a
workshop in
late 1998 on the 1997/98 El Niño while it was still fresh in the
minds of
those who were affected, and well-remembered by the scientists and
policy
advisers who predicted and monitored the resulting drought and its
effects.
The goal of the Committee was to share information and experience,
with the
hope that this would help New Zealanders deal better with similar
events in
the future. The Committee decided to place summaries of the
presentations
made at the workshop on the Internet, to provide a record people can
draw
on when they once again have to cope with an El Niño drought. These
summaries are now available at
http://www.rsnz.govt.nz/advisory/nz_climate/enso/index.php