Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said the climate models it monitors indicate a possible return of the El Nino weather pattern, often linked to heavy rainfall and droughts, in the second half of 2012.

The last severe El Nino in 1998 killed more than 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia.

The 6th South Asia Constituency Meeting of Global Environmental Facility (GEF) was conducted in Maldives. The meeting was inaugurated by Dr. Mohamed Ali, Chief of staff of president’s office in a ceremony held in Nasandhura Palace Hotel on 15 May 2012.. Abdullahi Majeed, Deputy Minister for Housing and Environment welcomed the participants to the meeting and wished them a pleasant stay in Maldives. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony Dr.

Met chief says El Nino may affect showers
The monsoon is likely to hit the southern tip of the country on time in the first week of June, said India’s top weather department official on Thursday, a week before the official forecast, lifting hopes of better farm output for the third successive year and a chance to rein in food inflation.
“It will hit Kerala in the first week of June with an error window of 2-3 days,” said India Meteorological Department director general LS Rathore.

IMD, however, cautions that the monsoon may weaken in August-September due to atmospheric changes in the tropical Pacific
India is expected to have a normal monsoon for the third consecutive year, boosting prospects of good harvests and higher rural incomes.

India seemed headed for the third straight year of good monsoon with normal rainfall being predicted for the upcoming June-September season. The Met department will announce on Thursday the preliminary forecast for the four-month season that accounts for almost 90 per cent of India’s annual rainfall. Many scientists believe that the forecast is likely to be of a normal monsoon in the absence of any “extreme indications” of any of the factors that are known to be affecting the monsoon rainfall.

The country is likely to see normal monsoon this year, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) officials have said, dissipating fears of any drought-like conditions. All indicators point towards a “normal monsoon” just like last year, said a ministry official on Tuesday. There is no adverse atmospheric or oceanic condition that may lead to deviation of monsoon from the normal range in the country this year, MoES officials said indicating there is no fear of a repeat of the 2009 drought-like conditions.

Indo-UK Study To Find If Climate Change Affecting Seasonal Rains
How will climate change affect the Indian monsoon in the coming years and decades? Given the crucial importance of the annual rains for the country’s food and water needs, scientists from 10 institutions in India and the UK have mounted the most comprehensive research exercise yet to answer that question.