Positive Indian Ocean Dipole possible in 2026 – what this means for Australian businesses
A positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) could develop in the coming months, a signal mining and energy operators and fire agencies will want on their radar with it potentially increasing the likelihood of warm and dry weather over large...
The snow has finally arrived after NSW’s best hydro week in a year
For most of June, the Snowy Mountains looked like they’d skipped winter altogether. Now, 28 cm of fresh snow has fallen at Thredbo, providing a promising sign for the season’s eventual snowmelt contribution to hydropower. Thredbo in New South Wales was reporting 28 centimetres of...
India’s worst monsoon start in over a decade – what it means for mining and ports
India’s 2026 southwest monsoon delivered the fifth-driest June since records began in 1901 – with Jharkhand’s Chandan Dam, in the heart of the central mining belt, recording zero storage according to the Central Water Commission. The monsoon arrived three...
El Niño Is Here: What a Potential Record Event Means for Southeast Asia and Australia
El Niño was officially declared in June 2026, raising the prospect of widespread impacts across Southeast Asia, from extreme heat and water shortages to higher energy demand and agricultural stress. The World Meteorological Organization has warned countries to “prepare...
How El Niño will shape Australian port operations in winter-spring 2026
Australian ports and marine pilots can expect a season of shifting wind and swell patterns through winter and spring 2026, as a developing El Niño brings the likelihood of drier conditions and more variable operating windows across the country’s...
From Kimberley to northern NSW: Bushfire outlook flags risk for resources sector this winter
Bushfire risk doesn’t usually make headlines in June, but AFAC’s winter seasonal outlook is putting mining and resources operators on alert from the Kimberley to the NSW. Australia’s official seasonal bushfire outlook for winter 2026 was released by AFAC on Thursday, May 28. The...
The signal was there weeks earlier: forecasting one of the year’s biggest wind events
In mid-May 2026, DTN APAC meteorologists flagged a strengthening Southern Ocean pattern in model guidance, signalling an extended run of record-challenging wind conditions across the NEM. Nearly three weeks later, NEM wind generation climbed from around 1.5GW to more than 9GW,...
The 2026 Indian Southwest Monsoon onset is expected in the next two weeks
The Indian Southwest Monsoon will reach India in the next two weeks, but a developing El Niño could signal a drier than normal monsoon for businesses and major industries across the country. Southwest monsoon onset over southern India in...
