SOUTHEAST Australia's drought is far from over, with US and Australian computer models predicting the current El Nino event will persist until well into autumn.
But there is hope on the horizon, if you accept the forecast of the Japan Agency for Marine-earth Science and Technology.
JAMSTEC scientists, led by Prof Toshio Yamagata, predict the El Nino-induced drought will quickly decay in coming months leading to a wetter La Nina event later this year.
"Northern and eastern coastal areas of Australia might have more precipitation than normal during June-August," the Japanese forecasters predict.
The Japanese argue autumn may still be dry due to El Nino's influence, but JAMSTEC maps show closer to normal and even wetter conditions across much of eastern Australia.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration models do not attempt to make such long-range forecasts.
The latest NOAA forecast simply states El Nino is present across the equatorial Pacific Ocean and is "expected to continue at least into the northern hemisphere spring, 2010".
The Australian BOM POAMA computer model similarly predicts sea surface temperatures will remain above El Nino thresholds through the southern hemisphere summer and autumn.
