AUSTRALIA GRIPPED BY BIG DRY
Australia is in the grips of an unprecedented drought with rainfall
over the past three years the lowest on record in several states.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported to Daily Planet Media that the
southern part of the continent had never before experienced such a
severe and long drought.
The worst affected areas were the states of Victorian, southeast South
Australia, northern Tasmania and Western Australia.
Drought had gripped the Murray-Darling Basin since late 2001 and had
worsened this year with rainfall totals for the past three years
setting new record lows in many regions, including many critical to
the nation's primary water flow of the Murray River.
Weather records show that this historic drought is much hotter than
previous droughts which is believed to be the result of a change in
wind pattern due to global warming. Climate data suggest that for
every degree increase in warming there is a 15 per cent decline in
run-off water and river flow.
With temperatures 1C hotter than three previous big droughts since
1895 weather forecasters aren't prepared to predict when the current
drought might end as the southern States head into what's predicted to
be a hotter than usual summer.
Inflows into the Murray River system are running at record low levels
with water storages down by 28 per cent. Adding to the problem is that
that Melbourne, the nation's second biggest city, has just had its
driest September on record.
Similar extreme drying patterns have also occurred in southwest USA
and large parts of the Mediterranean where there have been substantial
rainfall declines.
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