Dry spell: Region scrambles to adapt to fourth drought-like season in a row 26 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM 6 minutes to read Primary industry workers and councils are scrambling to adapt as the region braces for its fourth dry season in a row. Some farmers are trucking in water to keep crops growing, while an orchardist says he had to turn on irrigation systems as early as September as his kiwifruit vines were showing signs of the impact of seasonal drought conditions. Pāpāmoa orchardist Rob Thode said dry conditions were becoming the norm. Photo / George Novak And a meteorologist warns that weather events like this will only become "more common and more extreme" in coming decades.