CLIMATE AND HEALTH

• Wire services report a drought related cholera outbreak in southern Somalia.
• Officials in Kiribati  fear that extended drought conditions are leading to a deterioration in sanitation standards, which would put the population's health at risk. This potential health hazard could be an issue for all Pacific islands in the Equatorial Pacific eat of the "dry line" i.e. east of about 160 E longitude.

HAZARDS/THREATS

• Spring melting of record winter snow amounts, augmented by local rain, has resulted in flooding in Hungary.
• La Niña related drought has persisted in Kiribati for the past year. Water resources are being severely impacted as ground water levels have deepened and rainwater storage have been drained.

AGRICULTURE

• Mild weather over most of western Europe brought generally favorable conditions for winter grains.
• Periodic showers eased dry conditions in Spain and Portugal.
• Continued heavy rains in Australia caused some delays in sorghum and cotton harvests.
• Dry conditions and heat stressed South African corn early in the month but seasonal temperatures and some precipitation eased conditions by month's end.
• Melting snows were associated with a reported 600,000 acres of flooded crop land,  (mainly wheat) in Hungary.
• In Kiribati, breadfruit and coconut trees, essential food sources for these atoll islanders, have been severely affected by drought.

FISHERIES

• March was characterized by seasonal fishing bans on anchovy. Landings of sardines and other small pelagics made up the rest of the industrial catch, bringing total 1999 small pelagic landings to 1,117,983 metric tons (approximately 25% below average of past 5 years). Total cumulative catch for the same period in 1998 was 139,738 metric tons. Peruvian ministry of fisheries declared that the ban on anchovy will be lifted on April 5 and that an "exploratory fishing" program will be in effect from April 5 - 15. Only vessels with a satellite tracking system will be allowed to fish, with other restrictions including: limiting vessels to one trip per day, a 10% allowable undersized bycatch, and a 10% allowable sardine bycatch. Landings in the Pisco area are limited by pollution regulations regarding fishmeal processing capacity.