In Parts Of Southern, Eastern Australia, Drought Passes 11-Year Mark - Australian

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LARGE swathes of southern and eastern Australia have been in the grip of drought for 11 years and recent rains have done nothing to alleviate the situation. The Bureau of Meteorology yesterday also revealed the Murray-Darling Basin has just experienced its equal driest six-year period on record. It had an average of 389mm of rainfall a year, 20 per cent below the long-term average.

The head of climate analysis at the bureau's National Climate Centre, David Jones, said the low rainfall in the Murray-Darling Basin was equal to the period 1939-45, but this drought was hotter. "With global warming, it is no surprise the Murray-Darling Basin is about a degree hotter, so perhaps the drought is worse than any previous drought," Dr Jones said.

CSIRO scientist Wenju Cai said rainfall over the Murray-Darling Basin had decreased by 11per cent, but inflows had fallen by 57 per cent. Dr Cai has calculated the increased evaporation, due to a 1C rise in temperature, results in 3500GL (gigalitres or billion litres) less water in the Murray-Darling river system.

The long-term average inflow into the Murray River is 11,400GL. But rainfall over the six years to June this year averaged just 4200GL. Last year, it was 1317GL. So far this year, inflow has been 1675GL. Dr Jones said most of southern Victoria, over the past 11 years, had had rainfalls of about 20 per cent below average. He said Melbourne had effectively lost two years of rainfall over the past 10 years.

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22694410-5013404,00.html