Concern over worsening drought across Australia by Steph Ball
While other parts of the globe have been hit by record rain and floods over the last year, Australia’s concerns are for its worsening drought.
Over the last decade Australia has been gripped by a record drought, its worst in over a century. A combination of ongoing rainfall shortage and record high temperatures has left water supplies and land severely stressed across parts of the country.
The last year has seen some areas benefit from above average rainfall brought about by the 2007/ 2008 La Niña event. However, it has done little to address the ongoing drought. Last week the Australian Bureau of Meteorology stated that autumn and winter (March to August 2008) had been dry. As a result this has left some areas with serious to severe rainfall deficits.
The drought has had a devastating effect on Australia’s farming community, not least across the country’s most important farming region, the Murray-Darling Basin. Rivers here are said to be in a critical condition.
Meteorologists say that several years of above average rainfall are needed. However with the ongoing unprecedented drought laid partly to blame on climate change, it is difficult to see how there will be any immediate improvement.
