Papua New Guinea must prepare for the wet season already occurring, says the PNG National Weather Service (PNGNWS).
Heavy rain is currently experienced throughout the country during this festive period and will continue into the new year as the northwest monsoon period creeps in.
During the northwest monsoon or La Niña period, the warmest waters are located closer to Australia and PNG thereby bring increased rainfall occurrences towards our region.
PNGNWS reported that La Niña events tend to but not always brings above normal rainfall across the country and in worst case scenarios, causes floods and landslides especially in the Highlands.
The weather office stresses that it is extremely important that this information is communicated well in advance across a wide spectrum of the community.
PNGNWS assistant director Kasis Inape stated that the Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicted in October a weak La Niña occurrence by Australian standards with potentially weaker impacts.
Inape explained that however this may not be the case with PNG.
“Our experiences in the past shows that during weaker events, the country is hard hit and as a result suffers more, hence the urgency to prepare in advance for the worst case scenario,” he stated.
The north-west monsoon season normally starts from November to April.