Sydney, March 25 : Climate experts have uncovered a link between the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the killer bushfires in Australia.
Found by Dr Wenju Cai and Tim Cowan, of CSIRO's Marine and Atmospheric Research, the link indicates that a weather pattern centred on the Indian Ocean may provide an early warning system for major bushfires in southern Australia.
According to a report by ABC News, 11 of 16 major bushfires in Victoria since 1950 have been preceded by what is known as a positive IOD event.