Topsy-Turvy Weather
p. 21 · Read in the full issue
Prom Our Own Correspondent
Samarai, July 24.
REPORTS coming in from the north, east, south and west tell of unsea sonable weather conditions prevail ing all over this part of the 'Pacific.
Nature seems to have overlooked the fact that we are now well into July, normally a wet and windy month, and, by ignoring our calendar and upsetting our meteorological prophecies, has in flicted a period of dryness that amounts, in many places, to a drought.
Travellers from the north-east coast say that the land there is parched and thirsty. From Misima comes news that, with water tanks empty, settlers have fallen back on creek water; while a report from the Trobriands tells of one resident using coconut milk for drinking purposes.
Luckily, to alleviate any acute distress around Samarai, the 18th saw the gath ering of storm clouds which finally broke into intermittent rainstorms. It is hoped that the change is general and that the abnormal period has passed.
EDITORIAL NOTE: Papua is not alone with its topsy-turvy weather.
Almost all the Western Pacific Islands are complaining that they have experi enced abnormal conditions during the past year. In Australia, the water posi tion is critical—Sydney, the Empire’s second largest city, has barely 8 months’ supply of water, even with strict rationing.