Research by Australian scientists indicates that the land of kangaroos could face the risk of prolonged droughts lasting 20 years or more, significantly longer than any recent droughts.
Australia may soon encounter super droughts that extend over several decades. This warning has been issued by researchers from the Australian National University (ANU).
According to ANU’s research, super droughts are exceptionally severe, prolonged droughts that occur over large areas.
Climate change could cause super droughts lasting decades in Australia. (Image: Getty)
In their study, scientists utilized various climate models to simulate drought occurrences in Australia from 850 to 2000, to predict how these patterns might change in the future.
They discovered that the average duration of droughts in the southwestern and eastern regions of Australia during the 20th century was longer than during the pre-industrial period.
The researchers warn that Australia could soon face super droughts lasting up to 20 years, with increasingly severe impacts due to climate change.
Co-author of the study, expert Georgy Falster from the ANU School of Earth Sciences, emphasized that one of the notable findings of the team is that droughts in Australia could last much longer than any recent drought events.
Droughts could extend for 20 years or more. She asserted that super droughts are a part of natural climate variability in Australia. However, the concerning factor is that human-induced climate change will increase the likelihood of super droughts occurring in Australia.
The researchers focused on assessing the situation in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia’s largest agricultural region, which includes areas in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
They found that human-induced climate change has contributed to longer droughts in this basin, as well as in the southwestern regions of Australia. These areas are likely to experience reduced rainfall in the future due to climate change, heightening the risk of drought.
To mitigate the impacts of future droughts, the researchers recommend that Australians prepare management and water storage plans, as well as establish community support networks.
