Jim SalingerUnusual behaviour among snapper, increased fire risk and retreating glaciers could all be part of a coming "heatwave summer". There would still be incursions of cold air over the coming months, particularly in the South, but all the indicators added up to "a heatwave summer", Salinger said. in summer, there was a link between warm ocean temperatures and the corresponding air temperatures. Ocean temperatures in a wide region over a five-day period above the 90th percentile for that time of year were often considered the threshold for a marine heatwave. "That was quite a memorable summer — it was the most recent one that had La Nina conditions."

Source: Otago Daily Times November 14, 2021 20:07 UTC