La rainmaker is bad news for QLD. There is now a spanner in the works and her name is La Nina. The very thing we have been hoping for could become a curse for Anna Bligh and co, who staked their reputations on getting the water grid delivered on time. And La Nina looks like dragging on like a wet weekend until August. At least. What’s frustrating for some is that while La Nina tops up the dams to 25% capacity, residents remain locked on the harshest water restrictions they’ve ever faced. On those figures they should be on Level Four, not Level Six. But it’s this figure that will bedevil the Labor Government, 147. To pay for the $9billion water grid that’s had to be built to ensure water supply, the price of water is going to rise by 147% within four years. — Matt Wordsworth, ABC blogs

La Nina brings rain. La Nina to result in heavier precipitation in Australia, which leads many to hope that this years strong La Nina event will bring relief to drought stricken areas of Australia. — A Witness Notes

Not great for paragliding. It is well worth keeping an eye on the El Nino, La Nina cycles when planning your next paragliding adventure trip. With a strong La Nina developing (strongest since 1999), Australia is now suffering from cloudy, damp conditions and the Oz report mentions that the Australian Record Encampment has been postponed, probably indefinitely. La Nina events are generally not good for Southern Hemisphere big distance flying with both Australia and eastern South Africa experiencing cooler and wetter conditions. Although predicted to be wetter, the Ceara area of Brazil does seem to have benefitted from La Nina with a new world open distance record; perhaps the added moisture allows earlier starts. — SimplyGradient

Wait for climate change deniers to ark up. Predictions for the 2008 climate are for a year among the hottest, but not a record-breaker. That’s because it’s time for the cyclical La Nina, which produces cooling from tropical water. The climate change deniers will probably say this means that global warming is a hoax. Unfortunately, they are wrong, but expect them to demagogue a bit, courtesy of the La Nina phenomenon. — Political Environment

La Nina has no effect on polar caps. [Last year] La Nina didn’t keep the polar regions from getting even hotter, although it did help keep Hawaii cooler. See on the map that Hawaii temperatures were moderated between warmer areas just to the north and cooler areas just to the south. Hansen’s prediction for 08? Depends on how long La Nina lasts. Hansen thinks the next El Nino will come in 2009 or 2010. “But whatever year it occurs,” says Hansen, “it is a pretty safe bet that the next El Nino will help carry global temperature to a significantly higher level.” — Sustainability in Hawaii