Weather affecting schools

National

By MICHAEL LAI
SOME schools in Western have been forced to close early for the Christmas holidays because of lack of water caused by the dry conditions.
Waetang Kago, the headteacher of Taeme Primary School in East Transfly of South Fly district, said some schools had to close early because of the prolonged dry weather.
He said water levels had dropped dramatically, creeks relied on for washing and drinking had dried up.
“The level of Kikori and Bituari rivers are dropping every day. We cannot use them to travel by boat,” he said.
“My area has eight villages which have been suffering from the lack of fresh water since August.”
He said the other problem was bush fires which were increasing.
National Weather Service director Samuel Maiha said rainfall was declining in Western and other Papuan provinces.
“That is a sign of El Nino,” he said.
He also suggested that mitigation measures be implemented in parts of the country experiencing dry weather to prepare for future disasters.
Maiha said droughts affected food production, food security, water supply and fisheries.
There is also a likelihood of a full-blown El Nino situation after March 2019.
In a statement to the National
Disaster Centre, he said stakeholders needed a coordinated effort to mitigate adverse impacts in anticipation of a fully blown El Nino event.
El Nino refers to the cycle of warm and cold temperatures measured against sea surface temperature of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
It is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific.