NZ braces for El Nino drought
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The drought predictions are bad news for New Zealand's farmers.
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AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CNN) -- New Zealand is facing its worst drought conditions in five years due to an El Nino weather pattern, according to long-term weather forecasts.
The Pacific nation's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) says the latest long-term weather forecasts show parts of the country could face a severe drought in the next three months.
"There is a 50 percent probability that 2003 will be as warm or warmer than the previous warmest year, 1998, but only a 20 percent probability that 2003 will be cooler than 2002," NIWA said in a recent report.
Nearly three-quarters of New Zealand is suffering from the El Nino weather pattern, which brings hot dry westerly winds.
The outlook is disturbing for New Zealand's economy, which relies heavily on a large agricultural industry for much of its national income.
New Zealand is one of the world's biggest exporters of meat and dairy products and farmers depend on substantial rainfall for the growth of grass as food for sheep and cattle.
In particular, parts of the fertile Canterbury Plains -- which lie in the rainshadow of the South Island's Southern Alps -- could be facing a drought as severe as in 1998-99.
Dairy farmers in western regions of the North Island are also suffering with feed stock already falling to levels not seen since the 1970s as the drought evaporates water supplies.
