More floods forecast for Australia’s east as La Niña weather pattern lingers

A swift water rescue crew make their way through flood water this month in Laidley, Queensland. The La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific could persist into a third year. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

The breakdown of the La Niña weather pattern in the Pacific has stalled while a key Indian Ocean climate driver is tilting towards its wetter phase, making it more likely that eastern Australia will face more heavy rain and floods.

Just as the Bureau of Meteorology released a special climate report on the extreme rainfall and flooding that hit parts of south-eastern Queensland, northern New South Wales and the region around Sydney in February and March, its fortnightly report on climate influences pointed to the big wet extending for months to come.