REMARKABLE SUMMER

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19456, 21 December 1934, Page 7

REMARKABLE SUMMER

HIGH TEMPERATURES.

92 DEGREEB IN DECEMBER.. EXPERIENCE IN WAIKATO. Constituting remarkable weather tor so early in the summer, abnorm- > ally high temperatures have been experienced in the Waikato during the past several weeks. Hamiltonians in particular have sweltered in trying heat, 'the thermometer ranging as high as 92 degrees, the maximum temperature recorded last Saturday. On two other occasions there have been readings of 91 degrees. It is considered that the thermometer range during December is without parallel in the district and it is beyond 'doubt that not within the past •several years has there been nothing approaching to equivalent heat. The following table, offering a comparison between last week and the corresponding week in 1933, provides an en- / lightening indication of the severity of the heat wave:—

Smouldering Peat Fires. Parched pastures, 'lifeless foliage, 'Clouds of dust and 'smoking swamps in many section# of the Waikato indicate the severity of the drought. The heat wave has perhaps been seen at Its worst in the 'Country lying between Hamilton and Te Awamutu. Scorched pastures are, turning to brown while billowing clouds of smoke from the smouldering .peat fires hang low over • the countryside. Visivility over the Rukuhiia Swamp, that great tract of unbroken land that extends 'between the fertile Waikato and the green slopes of Plrongla, has been strictly limited and on occasions a curtain of haze Which skirts ‘the fringe of the waste of tea tree and fern, even obscures .the great bulk of the mountain from view. » Within the memory of many farmers who have been long established in the district, the drought bears no equal. It Is not .so much its intensity that has worried the primary producers as Its unseasonable nature. Pastures at this time of the year should be in excellent condition. Instead they are browning to such a degree as to create a doubt as to their value idiuring the remainder of the summer.

One Consolation. But there has been one consolation. Undoubtedly rain—a heavy and protracted fall—would be 'universally welcomed, but there has been the consolation of excellent harvesting conditions .and the long diry spell has enabled hay-making operations to be ■well forward. It is somewhat unusual to find, as will be the case this year, that the bulk of the hay in the Waikato will have been stacked by Christmas. •There have been occasional sharp showers, but they lacked either the duration or the 'intensity to mitigate the severity of the drought, and conditions have been .but little changed. A serious aspect has been 'the fall in the milk supply. Production has declined considerably, and it Is predicted that the cream, cheques 'for the ■current month may be below expectations. Yesterday at '5 p.m. s-evea*al ishort but fairly heavy showers were experienced, but in Hamilton they were not recorded, while at the Ruakura ■Farm of Instruction the fall was estimated at only .08in.

V Dec. 15th • • • • 1934 92 1933 84 16 th *•••••■ 91 81 '17 th 87 84’ 18 th 85 78 19th «•••** 88 •80 20 th • ...... 91 74 Averages 89 *80