One last word …

Ihave a message for our weather forecasters: please get your crystal balls fixed.

Although none of them guaranteed it or locked it in, many predicted a hot dry summer – but our farmers and indeed the rest of us are wanting to know “Where is summer?”

Instead of warm, lazy summer days, we have had the complete opposite in most parts of New Zealand, particularly the North Island.

With the north being hit by torrential rain and flooding in late January – and two weeks later we all had to endure ex-Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle, resulting in a national state of emergency being declared for only the third time in our history.

Landslides and homes tumbling off hills, people being swept away or cut off, people being helicoptered off their roofs or evacuated, stock being washed away, roads severely damaged, washed away and closed, and entire communities cut off ... it’s been a tough gig for everyone.

The tragic side to these weather events is the loss of life. At the time of writing nine people had lost their lives over the aforementioned events.

The impact of these events is long- term and devastating for many. The clean-up and rebuilding of lives and infrastructure will take years.

Extreme weather has made it a particularly tough season all round. I have yet to talk to a farmer who hasn’t been affected by either rain, flooding or long dry periods, although these are few.

“What’s left of it is going to be a challenge,” he said.

Over the past couple of months I noticed farmers in my district harvesting and baling flat out and there was paddock after paddock full of big rounds. Hopefully, farmers elsewhere also managed to cut and store feed, which will help them over the coming months.

It appears to me that the entire world has, for want of a better word, angered Mother Nature. We are only two months into the year and New Zealand has been hit with floods as has Mozambique; two powerful earthquakes have devastated Türkiye and Syria, killing thousands and displacing millions of people, wildfires are raging ... the list goes on and on.

But one thing the weather forecasters did get right was the early warning of these two events. Many I spoke to managed to move their stock to safety and secure as much as they could. I have heard several stories of farmers who have opened their farms to help other farms to milk their herds.

One farmer told me he saw some of his paddocks completely disappear under water that had begun receding, but leaving a trail of branches, mud and debris in its wake.

Climate change? Perhaps. Depends on what science you are reading or who you are talking with and listening too. Either way, let’s hope Mother Nature forgives us all, and soon. Maybe we might get a nice warmish, dryish winter. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Sonita

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