In
some years, there are a lot of droughts
in Australia.
Australia is the second driest continent in the world (after
Antarctica).
Except for the south-eastern and south-western parts of
the continent, most areas in Australia
don’t get reliable rains. Periods of droughts occur therefore
frequently, about once in ten years, and they often last for a few
years. Here is some information about Australia drought, its definition
and causes, and some historical droughts that have happened in
Australia.
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Definition of Drought
In Australia, a drought is declared when a region receives less than
10% of its normal rainfall. The areas often suffering by droughts are
south-western Queensland,
northern South
Australia and inland Western
Australia.
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Historical Droughts on Australian Continent
Some of the worst droughts on the Australian continent occurred in
1895-1903, 1911-1916, and in 1918-1920. Later, there have been some
pretty bad droughts in 1982-1983, 1995-1996, and 2002-2003. Although
droughts don’t usually threaten human life as do tropical
cyclones and bushfires,
they make the life hard for Australian
desert plants,
birds and animals. Cattle and sheep can also be killed, and crops can
be devastated causing hard times for farmers. Droughts also cause
erosion because the topsoil dries out, and they can cause some major
bushfires.
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Causes of Droughts
There is seldom a single cause behind a drought. It is usually a
combination of factors, such as the climate, El Niño – La Niña cycles,
and other weather patterns. Global warming will definitely have its
effects on Australian droughts.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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