64-529: Drought in Australia is defined by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology as rainfall over period greater than three-months being in the lowest decile of what has been recorded for that region in the past. This definition takes into account that drought is a relative term and rainfall deficiencies need to be compared to typical rainfall patterns including seasonal variations. Specifically, drought in Australia
128-514: A monsoon depression became an extratropical low and swept across Australia's interior and on to the south-east in mid- to late March. An extremely severe drought occurred in the later year of 1991, which intensified in 1994 and 1995 to become the worst on record in Queensland . This drought was influenced by a strong El Niño weather pattern and associated with high temperatures in July and August 1995,
192-663: A $ 500 million drought stimulus package, including an additional $ 2 million in loans under the Regional Investment Corporation under a reconfigured payment schedule, an extension to the existing Drought Communities Program which provides money to regional Councils, and supplementary payments under the Roads to Recovery program to assist with job creation in drought-affected areas. The plan also provided $ 100 million for South Australia to turn on its Adelaide Desalination Plant to significantly ramp up production of water to supply
256-683: A brief respite, and 1940 was one of the driest years of the century over most of southern Australia, emptying the Nepean Dam in New South Wales and imposing water restrictions in Brisbane. Perth had its driest year of the 20th century. Heavy rain in the southeastern States in November 1940 and January 1941 slightly eased the situation and 1942 was a year of good general rain, but an even worse 1944 resulted when dearth of winter–spring rains led to failure of
320-583: A major loss of production. The town of Warwick was particularly affected. From 1996 to 2010, south-eastern Australia experienced prolonged dry conditions with rainfall persistently well below average, particularly during the cooler months from April to October. The most acute period of the so-called 'Millennium drought' was between 2001 and 2009. The drought finished with the arrival of wet La Niña conditions during 2010 and 2011, with particularly heavy summer rainfall. Dry conditions began to emerge in south-eastern Australia during late 1996 and intensified during
384-466: A prolonged period of negative SAM ( Southern Annular Mode ) during October and November. Exacerbating the effects of diminished rainfall in this drought has been a record breaking run of above average monthly temperatures, lasting 36 months to October 2019. As of December 2019 the drought was continuing – including the driest November across Australia on record – but the Bureau of Meteorology reported that
448-687: A regional forecasting centre (RFC) and a flood warning centre. The Adelaide office incorporates the National Tidal Centre , while the Darwin office the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre and Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (Analysis). The Perth , Darwin and Brisbane offices also housed Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres which were ultimately unified into one since the 2020–21 cyclone season . The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issues tropical cyclone advisories and developed
512-561: A severe drought was experienced by Queensland , New South Wales , South Australia , Northern Territory (Darwin-Daly Waters area and central Australia), Western Australia (Fortescue area), Victoria, and Tasmania . During World War II frequent dry spells from 1937 to 1945 extended over New South Wales, Victoria, much of Queensland and parts of Western Australia, with more breaks than the Federation and Millennium droughts, but more periods of intense dryness. Parts of New South Wales, notably
576-581: A subsection devoted to astronomy. In August 1905, federal home affairs minister Littleton Groom surveyed state governments for their willingness to cede control, finding South Australia and Victoria unwilling. However, at a ministerial conference in April 1906, the state governments agreed to transfer responsibility for meteorology and astronomy to the federal government. Groom rejected a takeover of astronomy due to its connection to universities, which relied on state legislation for their authority. Henry Ambrose Hunt
640-414: A year, from April 1902 to May 1903. There was concern about Sydney 's water supply . By 1902, Australia's sheep population dropped from its 1891 level of 106 million to fewer than 54 million. Cattle numbers fell by more than 40 per cent. Sheep numbers did not return to 100 million until 1925. In the 1911–1915 period, Australia suffered a major drought , which failed the 1914 wheat crop. From 1918 to 1920,
704-586: Is defined in relation to a rainfall deficiency of pastoral leases and is determined by decile analysis applied to a certain area. Note that this definition uses rainfall only because long-term records are widely available across most of Australia. However, it does not take into account other variables that might be important for establishing surface water balance, such as evaporation and condensation . Historical climatic records are now sufficiently reliable to profile climate variability taking into account expectations for regions. Bureau of Meteorology records since
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#1732845214281768-637: Is much drier than any other coastal region of the state. Annual rainfall ranges from 1,100 mm (43 in) at Newcastle to only 640 mm (25 in) at Merriwa and Scone in the upper reaches. In the driest years rainfall can be as low as 600 mm (24 in) at Newcastle and 375 mm (15 in) in the upper valley. Around the Barrington Tops on the northern side of the valley, however, annual precipitation can be as high as 2,000 mm (79 in), not all of which falls as rain since July temperatures are often below 0 °C (32 °F). In
832-408: Is projected to decrease (high confidence), but increases are projected for Tasmania in winter (medium confidence), while in eastern and northern Australia in the near future (to 2030), natural variability is anticipated to predominate over trends due to greenhouse gas emissions. However even if climate change does not result in decreased rainfall in eastern and northern Australia over the period to 2030,
896-531: Is threatened by drought, climate change and proposed loss of water due to coal mining. The region is also favoured by thoroughbred horse breeders and stud farms. The Hunter River has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Wonnarua Aboriginal people, who called it the Coquun ( / k oʊ ˈ k w ɪ n / ), meaning "fresh water". The Lower Hunter River nearer to the coast is the traditional country of
960-637: The Awabakal people. Both groups spoke a similar language . The river was first settled by European explorers in the 1790s. In June 1796, fishermen sheltering from bad weather discovered coal there, and the river was initially called Coal River. In 1797, it was formally named the Hunter, after Captain John Hunter who was Governor of the British colony in New South Wales at that time. Between 1826 and 1836, convicts built
1024-550: The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), states that on account of projected future climate change, hot days will become more frequent and hotter (very high confidence), extreme rainfall events will become more intense (high confidence), and the time in drought is projected to increase over southern Australia (high confidence). Seasonal-average rainfall changes will vary across Australia: in southern mainland Australia, winter and spring rainfall
1088-518: The New England Highway ; and the Golden Highway crosses the river to the north and to the southeast of Denman. The Hunter Valley is one of the best routes to the interior of the state with access relatively unimpeded by mountains and other obstacles. It is the largest area of relatively low-lying land near the coast of New South Wales, and owing to the shielding by rugged ranges to its north,
1152-565: The Ramsar -protected Kooragang Wetlands that feeds Milham Ponds, Wader Pond, Swan Pond and a series of smaller wetland pondages. The southern arm of the river also creates Hexham Island, while the northern creates Smiths Island and flows in Fullerton Cove. The two channels converge at Walsh Point, reaching confluence with Throsby Creek adjacent to the Newcastle central business district, before reaching
1216-539: The Standard Emergency Warning Signal used for warnings. The Bureau is responsible for tropical cyclone naming for storms in waters surrounding Australia. Three lists of names used to be maintained, one for each of the western, northern and eastern Australian regions. However, as of the start of the 2008–09 Tropical Cyclone Year these lists have been rolled into one main national list of tropical cyclone names . The regional offices are supported by
1280-708: The Tasman Sea at Newcastle , the second largest city in New South Wales and a major harbour port . Its lower reaches form an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary . The Hunter River rises on the western slopes of Mount Royal Range , part of the Liverpool Range , within Barrington Tops National Park , east of Murrurundi , and flows generally northwest and then southwest before being impounded by Lake Glenbawn ; then flowing southwest and then east southeast before reaching its mouth of
1344-733: The 1860s show that a 'severe' drought has occurred in Australia, on average, once every 18 years. State Governments are responsible for declaring a region drought affected and the declaration will take into account factors other than rainfall. Australia has experienced a marked decrease in precipitation levels since 1994. Deficiencies in northern Australia increased in 2013–14, leading to an extended drought period in certain parts of Queensland. Between 2017 and 2019, severe drought developed once more across much of eastern and inland Australia including Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, also extending into parts of South and Western Australia. Since 1860, when adequate meteorological recording commenced,
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#17328452142811408-711: The Adelaide metropolitan area, to allow farmers affected by drought to access more water from the Murray River upstream. This followed the release of a $ 170 million Drought Stimulus Package by the New South Wales State Government in June. Dry conditions in September 2019 contributed to several small to mid-range fires in north eastern New South Wales. By November of that year, continuing heat and lack of rain had desiccated
1472-680: The Bureau National Operations Centre (BNOC) which is also located at the head office in Melbourne Docklands . The Bureau maintains a network of field offices across the continent, on neighbouring islands and in Antarctica . There is also a network of some 500 paid co-operative observers and approximately 6,000 voluntary rainfall observers. The Bureau of Meteorology has been accused of being influenced by oil and gas giants such as Santos , Chevron and Woodside to downplay
1536-645: The Bureau came under the Department of the Interior . In 1957, partly as a response to the 1955 Hunter Valley floods , the Bureau added a hydrometeorological service. In 1964, the federal government agreed to establish one of the three World Meteorological Centres in Melbourne , as part of the WMO's World Weather Watch scheme. In October 2022, the Bureau requested media organisations and outlets to update their style guides so that
1600-523: The Bureau decommissioned the central computing facility, which had previously been relocated to the Melbourne office in 2004, and was first commissioned in 1974. In April 2020, the Bureau received Australis II, a 4.0 petaflop Cray XC50 and CS500 system, which was expected to be operational in August 2024 after several lengthy delays . 2 years later, the Bureau bought a disaster recovery (DR) HPC system to improve
1664-645: The February average. Flooding was extensive, including areas such as Lake Conjola , that had been devastated by bushfires about 6 weeks earlier. About 28500 people were affected by this drought. In March 2021, above average rainfall led to serious and destructive flooding in the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment and on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. In November 2013 the Australian Government released
1728-623: The Federation Drought, the WWII drought and the Millennium drought in terms of its severity through the MDB". In October 2019, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology stated that drier and warmer and drier than average conditions were expected to persist at least until the end of the year with no relief in sight for most of the drought affected areas, influenced at least in part by a positive Indian Ocean Dipole and
1792-610: The Tasman Sea, in Newcastle between Nobbys Head and Stockton . The river is joined by ten tributaries upstream of Lake Glenbawn; and a further thirty-one tributaries downstream of the reservoir. The main tributaries are the Pages , Goulburn , Williams and the Paterson rivers and the Moonan , Stewarts and Wollombi brooks. East of Hexham , the river splits into two main channels, separated by
1856-516: The agency was to be referred to as the “Bureau of Meteorology” in the first instance and "the Bureau" in subsequent professional references, in line with other governmental agencies and the Meteorology Act 1955. The decision was reversed that week. During this period, the media cycle on this story led to death threats sent from the public to the organisation and were received by general staff, scientists, meteorologists, and other specialists within
1920-532: The central west, had record-low rainfall and in 1938 severe dry conditions intensified there and in Victoria, eastern South Australia and in southwest Australian grain-growing areas. An extremely dry six-month spell in Victorian forests contributed to the disastrous Black Friday bushfires of January 1939, before heavy rain came in late February 1939 over Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. The rains were only
1984-615: The centre of the continent since 1957 but spread elsewhere during the summer of 1964/1965. This drought contributed to the 1967 Tasmanian fires in which 62 people died in one day and 1,400 homes were lost. The drought in 1982–83 is regarded as the worst of the twentieth century for short-term rainfall deficiencies of up to one year and their over-all impact. There were severe dust storms in north-western Victoria and severe bushfires in south-east Australia in February 1983 with 75 people killed. This El Niño-related drought ended in March, when
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2048-482: The conclusion of the war. It became an inaugural member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1950. Televised weather forecasts were introduced in 1956. The 1906 act governing the Bureau was repealed and replaced by the Meteorology Act 1955 , which brought its functions in line with the expectations of the WMO and allowed for a significant reorganisation of its structure. At this time,
2112-633: The cotton industry were impacted by the drought. The main areas affected were in New South Wales: Menindee , where the area under production was reduced by 100%, Bourke , area reduced by 99%, Walgett by 95%, the Macquarie River by 74% and Gwydir River by 60%. In Queensland, the worst-affected areas were Biloela , which reduced the area under production by 100%, Dirranbandi , by 91%, Central Highlandsby 82% and Darling Downs by 78%. Bourke has only had adequate water for one cotton crop in
2176-548: The drought in the south-east. Very wet conditions continued through 2011, resulting in floods in Queensland and northern Victoria. Dairy producers were hit particularly hard by the drought. 2004 was a particularly bleak year in the sector, with revenue in the industry falling by 5.6%. Agricultural production was affected. Water use by the industry fell by 37% between 2000/01 and 2004/05, due mainly to drought. Around 20 cotton communities and 10,000 people directly employed by
2240-399: The effects of climate change to “please their leaders”. Sentences in the Bureau's report on the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season were censored and/or modified to remove references to climate change and long-term warming trends. The following people have been directors of the Bureau of Meteorology: On 30 June 2016, a new Cray XC40 supercomputer was put into service by the Bureau. It
2304-557: The end of March 2019, rainfall deficiencies in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia's most extensive river system, were the third lowest on record, behind similar length timeframes between 1901 and 1903, and between 1918 and 1920. In July 2019, climatologist David Jones from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology stated that the present drought was now officially the worst on record in the Murray–Darling Basin, and "had now exceeded
2368-502: The fifth continuous year of drought in parts of Queensland. According to Primary Industries Minister, Ed Casey, "the drought affected region stretched in a 200 km to 300 km wide strip from Stanthorpe to Charters Towers ". So few wheat and barley crops survived, about half the usual for that year, that grains had to be imported from other states. In June 1994, more than ten towns had lost irrigation systems; and some areas had gone five years without decent rainfall. A part of
2432-590: The forests and agricultural land along the Great Dividing range in New South Wales and Queensland. Sydney received less than 2 millimetres (0.079 in) of rain in December 2019, with temperatures reaching 40°C (104°F). Numerous intense bushfires occurred, some of which burnt Gondwanan rainforest remnants that had not experienced fires for millennia. This included Mount Nothofagus National Park and Nightcap National Park . Australia's national science research agency,
2496-413: The last five years. Dry conditions again began to develop and be sustained in mid-2013 through much of western Queensland. Although these began easing for western Queensland in early 2014, drought began to develop further east, along the coastal fringe and into the ranges of southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales. Dry conditions continued into 2015 in the east, particularly in Queensland where
2560-536: The lower areas, summer maxima are usually around 27 °C (81 °F) and winter maxima around 16 °C (61 °F). Except for the driest parts of Tasmania and a small area of the Monaro between Cooma and Nimmitabel , the Hunter Valley is the southern limit of rich "black earths" (actually black cracking clays ). These are the only soils in all of Australia with reasonable levels of soluble phosphorus , with
2624-535: The monsoon rains were delayed. Queensland had experienced poor wet season rains for three consecutive seasons. Wetter conditions in 2016 eased the effects of drought in eastern Australia, but pockets of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales remained drier than average. Stock feed becomes scarce and farmers find it difficult to feed cattle and sheep. 2017 was a drier than average year for much of inland Queensland, most of New South Wales, eastern and central Victoria, and all of Tasmania. In 2018, rainfall for
Drought in Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-500: The most severe droughts have occurred commonly at intervals of 11 to 14 years. Major droughts that were recorded later in the 19th century include: At the time of Federation, Australia suffered a major drought. There had been a number of years of below average rainfall across most of Australia before the drought. During the drought, the wheat crop was "all but lost", and the Darling River was dry at Bourke, New South Wales , for over
2752-453: The organisation, those of which had no input or were a part of the request. Some Bureau employees at the time requested not to have their name used during live media crosses as a safety precaution. The style guide change requested was directed at professional news organisations and media outlets, but was misconstrued and the general public, who colloquially refer to the Bureau as “the BOM”, believed it
2816-480: The perceived severity of drought (in terms of low soil moisture) would increase on account of the higher evaporative demand resulting from the projected overall rise in average temperatures. Australian Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology ( BOM or BoM ) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It
2880-528: The positive Indian Ocean Dipole had weakened to around 50% of its peak seen in mid October, possibly indicating a future improvement in conditions later in the Australian summer. From 7-10 February 2020, many areas on the east coast of New South Wales received heavy and continuous rain, the heaviest falls for thirty years. 391.6 millimetres (15.42 in) of rain fell over the four days in Sydney, more than three times
2944-571: The resilience of the supercomputer used to predict Australia’s weather events. Hewlett Packard Enterprise will supply the DR HPC system under a three-year contract worth $ 49.3 million, supplementing the existing Australis II. Hunter River (New South Wales) The Hunter River ( Wonnarua : Coquun ) is a major river in New South Wales , Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching
3008-505: The result that upstream from Singleton very rich pasture land with many thoroughbred horse studs occurs. Around Merriwa and south of Singleton, the soils are very infertile sands more typical of Australia as a whole, and the dominant land use is extensive grazing. Parts of the Hunter Valley are important for grape growing and wine producing . The Hunter Valley is also one of Australia's most important coal mining areas. The Hunter River
3072-422: The river mouth. The Hunter River descends 1,397 m (4,583 ft) over its 468 km (291 mi) course from the high upper reaches, through the Hunter Valley, and out to sea. The Hunter River is subject to substantial flooding, which Glenbawn Dam, near Scone , was constructed to ameliorate. Major floods have occurred on the Hunter including the flood of 1955 that caused devastation to townships along
3136-566: The river, especially Maitland. Severe flooding again occurred in June 2007 and again in 2015. Towns along the Hunter River, from upstream to downstream, include Aberdeen , Muswellbrook , Denman , Jerrys Plains , Singleton , Maitland , Morpeth and Raymond Terrace . At Hexham, the river is transversed by the Pacific Highway ; while at Singleton and again at Aberdeen, the river is crossed by
3200-529: The second half of the year again failed to break continuing drought conditions in the south-east. South-east Australia experienced its second driest year on record in 2006, particularly affecting the major agricultural region of the Murray–Darling basin . 2007 saw record temperatures across the south of Australia, and only patchy rain; promising early year rains contrasted with a very dry July–October period, meaning that drought conditions persisted across much of
3264-477: The second half of the year. Australia's weather pattern transitioned rapidly to a wet La Niña pattern during autumn, resulting in record-breaking rains in the Murray-Darling Basin and well above average rainfall across the south-east. For many locations this was the first year of above-average rainfall since 1996. The rainfall dramatically increased surface water storage and soil moisture, effectively ending
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#17328452142813328-534: The south-east. At this point, the Bureau of Meteorology estimated that south-eastern Australia had missed the equivalent of a full year's rain in the previous 11 years. 2008 and 2009 saw continuing hot and dry conditions in south-eastern Australia, with occasional heavy rainfall failing to break the continuing drought. The effects of the drought were exacerbated by Australia's (then) second hottest year on record in 2009, with record-breaking heatwaves in January, February and
3392-504: The southern States in winter 1945, with a good wheat harvest that year, but in some regions of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales 1946 was the worst year of all, and only in 1947 did significant general rains end the long drought. In 1952 large regions across the North were affected by a failed wet season declared to be the "driest season for 50 years." Its effect on agriculture was profound, with millions of cattle dying, many because
3456-486: The stock routes south were too dry to sustain their journey. Artist Sidney Nolan , on commission from the Brisbane Courier-Mail , produced a series of photographs of their dried carcasses, but the results were judged by editors to be too confronting and the article carried his drawings from the pictures instead. From 1965–1968, eastern Australia was again greatly affected by drought. Conditions had been dry over
3520-404: The strong 1997 El Niño event. Rainfall in 1998, 1999 and 2000 was closer to average, with isolated areas affected by rainfall well below average. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, much of eastern Australia experienced a dry 2001. 2002 was one of Australia's driest and warmest years on record, with 'remarkably widespread' dry conditions, particularly in the eastern half of the country, which
3584-558: The summer of 1944–45. Artist Russell Drysdale undertook 3-week 5000km tour, at the height of WW2, of wind-eroded drought-stricken areas on commission from The Sydney Morning Herald . The articles written by Keith Newman and variously headed "The country in which there are no Bushfires. There is nothing to burn;" "Worst Drought in Australia's History;" and "An Artist's Journey Into Australia's Lost World," were generously illustrated with stark line drawings by Drysdale and appeared on subsequent days 16-19 December 1944. The drought broke in
3648-464: The upper Darling River system collapsed during this drought. By October 1994, the Condamine River was exhausted, reverting to a series of ponds. Across the state, in more than 13,000 properties, totaling 40% of Queensland, was drought declared. The flow past Goondiwindi was the lowest since 1940. Cotton farms near Moree and Narrabri had been allocated no water for irrigation, which resulted in
3712-669: The wheat crop and required populations in northern Victoria to cart water. Into 1945, large rivers virtually dried up, with most of the Hunter River ceasing flow and the Hawkesbury drying up at North Richmond . There was no flow in the Murray above Echuca . Adelaide faced water shortages while main Victorian water storages were empty in April 1945 and water restrictions were imposed as far north as Townsville. Dust storms blanketed South Australia, northern Victoria and southern New South Wales through
3776-689: The year was very low over the southeastern quarter of the Australian mainland, with much of the region experiencing totals in the lowest 10% of historical observations, and was particularly low over the mainland southeast from April onwards. The state of New South Wales was declared to be 100% in drought by August 2018, remaining at 98.6% into May 2019; by May 2019 65.2% of Queensland was also declared to be in drought. Two southern parts of Western Australia were declared "water deficient" by May 2019 after months of drought, with other drought affected areas including central and east Gippsland in Victoria, and parts of eastern South Australia. On one-to-two-year timeframes to
3840-476: Was again affected by El Niño conditions. It was, at the time, Australia's fourth driest year since 1900. The El Niño weather pattern broke down during 2003, but occasional strong rainfall in 2003 and 2004 failed to alleviate the cumulative effect of persistently low rainfall in south-eastern Australia, with some measurement stations having recorded below average rainfall for eight consecutive years. Rainfall in early 2005 remained below average, and better rainfall in
3904-494: Was appointed as the first Commonwealth Meteorologist in November 1906. Initially, the Bureau had few staff and issued a single daily forecast for each state, transmitted by Morse code to country areas. Radio forecasts were introduced in 1924. The Bureau received additional funding from the late 1930s, in the lead-up to World War II, and it was incorporated into the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1941 until after
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#17328452142813968-554: Was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then. The states officially transferred their weather recording responsibilities to the Bureau of Meteorology on 1 January 1908. The Bureau of Meteorology was established on 1 January 1908 following the passage of the Meteorology Act 1906 . Prior to Federation in 1901, each colony had had its own meteorological service, with all but two colonies also having
4032-560: Was named "Australis" and it was expected to be 16 times faster than the existing High Performance Computer (HPC) with a total of 1.6 petaflops of computational power, providing the operational computing capability for weather, climate, ocean and wave numerical prediction and simulation. The Bureau performs numerical weather prediction with the Unified Model software. The Bureau decommissioned their old Oracle system in October 2016. In 2020,
4096-706: Was referring to them. The Bureau of Meteorology is the main provider of weather forecasts , warnings and observations to the Australian public. The Bureau's head office is in Melbourne Docklands , which includes the Bureau's Research Centre, the Bureau National Operations Centre, the National Climate Centre, the Victorian Regional Forecasting Centre as well as the Hydrology and Satellite sections. Regional offices are located in each state and territory capital. Each regional office includes
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