Australian Grain Regions May Face Above-Average Temperatures

By Madelene Pearson

Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Australia, the world's sixth-largest wheat exporter, may have warmer than average temperatures in some southeast grain growing areas later this week, the National Climate Center said.

Parts of South Australia, northern Victoria and western New South Wales may be more than 5 degrees Celsius hotter than usual for this time of year, Shoni Dawkins, climatologist at the center said today from Melbourne. Maximum temperatures in northern Victoria average about 18 degrees (64 degrees Fahrenheit) in September, according to government data.

Australian grain growers want cooler temperatures and rain ahead of the harvest due to start about November. The nation may produce 22.2 million metric tons of wheat, less than a government forecast, because of dry weather in July and August, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said last week.

``The high pressure system sitting over eastern Australia is directing a north to north-westerly airflow, bringing in the warmer air mass,'' Dawkins said. ``A lot of parts of Australia are on their last bit of soil moisture, so they're just hoping it won't get too hot too quickly.''

Southern Queensland and New South Wales may get more than 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) of rain later this week, after falls in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland last week of between 25 millimeters and 50 millimeters, Dawkins said.

Rainfall in South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, will mostly be less than 5 millimeters, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Madelene Pearson in Melbourne on mpearson1@bloomberg.net