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Lots more rain, where the food doesn’t grow
10 Nov 2004
The country is getting wetter, but not in the regions that would aid agriculture. In the past 100 years, western, central and northern Australia have received above-normal rain, making for a wetter nation when averaged out across the continent. The overall national rainfall is up by about 15 per cent in 100 years, or 73 millimetres according to research by CSIRO climate scientist Ian Smith. Smith said 2000 was the second-wettest year on record, averaged across the country, and some parts of the desert had 70 per cent more rain than normal in the past eight years. The rain increases came in the summer during the monsoon season. His research confirms predictions that global warming would bring less rain to southern Australia and more to the north. Smith also found that temperatures in Australia have risen by 0.8 degrees in the past century.
Sydney Morning Herald, 10/11/04
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