Climate Change & "Climate Dogs"

March 28^th - Speaker Michael Cashen - Climatologist from Wagga DPI.

Attending were Barb, Heather, Lisa, Jo, Donna, Marilyn, Felicity, Michelle, Vicki, Liz and Anne

Michael gave a most interesting presentation on Climate and the variants of it all.  It was interesting that he declined from any comment on the Murray Darling basin controversy.  Michael had history of the Marrar rainfall from 1887!!!



Climatedogs - a series of video clips for farmers and students wanting to get a better understanding of the drivers of climate variability in NSW - can now be viewed on the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) website.

NSW DPI climatologist, Michael Cashen said Climatedogs uses clever animated sheep dogs to demonstrate in simple terms the complex drivers of climate variability in NSW.

"Farmers have always had to manage a variable climatic pattern, but science has recently made significant steps forward in understanding the drivers of this seasonal variability, providing an opportunity for farmers," Mr Cashen said.

"The Climatedogs animation series explains the interaction of the four major seasonal influences, with each dog representing a driver such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation.

"This makes explaining how those influences interact with each other, in both the short and long term, much easier to understand.

"I urge anybody interested in better understanding our variable but changing climate to go to the Climatedogs webpage and watch each of the five video clips.

"You will come away with a much better understanding of the drivers that influence climatic variability in our state."

Mr Cashen said farmers can make more timely decisions that capitalise on opportunities and avoid the downside risks by better understanding climate drivers.

"In the past, variability in rainfall has had a significant impact on agricultural production," he said.
"In 2002-3, the drought had a significant impact on the Australian economy.

"It subtracted around one percentage point from GDP growth and around three quarters of a point from employment growth in that year.

"Understanding rainfall patterns will enable farmers to make informed decisions about likely seasonal conditions."

Climatedogs can be viewed at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/info/climatedogs