A long-running drought in Australia’s main food-growing region, the Murray-Darling river basin, has worsened, a new report says.
Three months of dry weather and the driest June on record have plunged the area back into drought, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission says.
Crossing much of south-east Australia, the Murray-Darling is the country’s most important river system.
The basin produces 40% of Australia’s fruit, vegetables and grain.
Experts say the drought will hit irrigated crops like rice and grapes the hardest, because other crops, such as wheat, depend more on rainfall during specific periods.
Grim picture
Corey Watts, of the Australian Conservation Foundation in Melbourne, told the BBC that drought was becoming a regular occurrence instead of happening once every 20 to 25 years.
“We’ve had a string of reports, official reports, over the last fortnight painting a pretty grim picture for the climate and the future of our economy and our environment,” he said. “So now we’re looking at a future in the next few decades where drought will occur once every two years.”
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