The climate of the southern hemisphere autumn 1989 is summarised with emphasis on the Australian region. After rising to a peak in early summer 1988-89 the Southern Oscillation Index peaked again in autumn. Although sea-surface temperature indices in the eastern equatorial Pacific continued to rise towards normal levels, some other, climate indices were maintaining values characteristic of a cold episode. Temperatures remained above normal along mid-latitudes with significant warming southwards from Australia. High latitude patterns of this cold episode autumn were in significant contrast to respective patterns of the 1987 warm episode autumn. Australia received extensive record rains in autumn and useful rains in northern Argentina and Uruguay terminated an abnormal dry spell in that region.
D. Gaffney (Fri,) studied this question.