Australasian Meteorology.

Progress, Volume I, Issue 7, 1 May 1906, Page 161

Australasian Meteorology.

Up to the present day, each of the various institutions for studying weather m Australasia has been working independently for its own local and particular needs, and there has been no central bureau whose business it has been to gather and discuss this wealth of priceless material, now rapidly accumulating, to advance the knowledge of the meteorology of this portion of the globe as a whole. It is true that valiant attempts have been made by individuals to tackle this inquiry, and, thanks to their efforts much valuable information has been gleaned. Australia, as everyone knows, is a very large tract of country, extending considerably in both latitude and longitude. There is undoubtedly a very close connection between Indian and Australian weather, so that a rigorous study of the latter would, m all probability, be extremely useful in helping to unravel the vagaries of the former. Disastrous droughts are not infrequent in Australia, and at these epochs, when the natural water supply of the country is cut off, millions of sheep die, and in consequence the assets of the country are considerably diminished. 1 1 is therefore of the highest importance for the future welfare of our colonies that, in addition to the various institutions which are at present collecting and publishing meteorological observations, there should be added a central bureau to take a broader view of the situation and co-ordinate and discuss not only the Australian meteorological data in toto, but those gleaned from neighbouring islands and seas. According to recent information there seems a prospect of such a scheme being brought into

being, and if it be carried out in a practical manner, the colonies will undoubtedly be benefited in the course of time. Droughts, of course, cannot be stopped, but their effects may be mitigated by an intelligent use of the knowledge that will be gained by such an institution after a careful study of the weather changes — changes which have every appearance of being of a periodical nature.