Aus. - Murray River Has Set New Low-Flow Records Every Month Since 6/06 - Climate Elephant In Room

[hatrack]

THE spectre of climate change hangs over the Murray-Darling Basin. Every month since June, the Murray River has set a record for low inflows.

According to the CSIRO, water availability across the basin could be up to 20 per cent less in 2030, while projections for 2070 are for between 5 per cent more water to 45 per cent less. Murray-Darling Basin Commission chief executive Wendy Craik said the commission, along with several other organisations, including the CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology, has embarked on a three-year $7 million program to study the effects of climate change on the basin, and to work towards producing seasonal forecasts.

Dr Craik said they wanted to get a good understanding of the effects of climate change on the amount of water in the basin. "Climate change will have an impact on a number of the factors," she said. "For example, with climate change, we are going to have more frequent and more intense bushfires."

Over the past 10 years, inflows into the Murray have been 42 per cent below the long-term average. That is a that Dr Craik says is comparable to the 1940s and the federation droughts.

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21419236-30417,00.html