Today's Edition
CANBERRA (WAM)
Australia recorded the driest October in more than 20 years due to an El Nino weather pattern which has seen hot, dry conditions hit crop yields in one of the world's largest wheat exporters, Reuters reported, citing the national weather bureau on Wednesday.
El Niño is a climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean
In its regular drought report, the Bureau of Meteorology said last month was Australia's driest October since 2002, with rainfall 65% below the 1961–1990 average.
It said every part of Australia except the state of Victoria had below-average rainfall and Western Australia state -- by far the biggest grain-exporting region -- saw its driest October on record.
After three years of plentiful rain, the El Nino weather phenomenon has brought hot and dry weather to Australia, with September the driest since records began in 1900.
