Case study: Australian drought, 2008

Causes:

Caused by El Nino - reversal of normal winter ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean

• Currents in the ocean reverse so there is warm water in the east by South America and cold water in the west by Australia
• Trade winds blow east over the Pacific Ocean and pick up moisture
• Air by South American coast is heated and rises, cooling and condensing to form rainclouds
• Thunderstrorms and heavy rain over the South American coast
• Trade winds blow west again back over the ocean and lose moisture
• Air descends leading to high air pressure over the Australian coast
• Droughts occur in Australia

Effects:

• crops died due to lack of water - farmer lost income and faced ruin as loss of income meant they struggled to keep their farms running - due to this, government had to compensate to avoid food shortages
• Drought caused ground to dry out - vegetation…