No respite in the drought hitting eastern Australia by Darren Bett
Farmers in the state of New South Wales are in desperate need of some rain in the coming months to ease the worst drought that has hit the region in over 100 years. Over the past month, the area of the state that has been drought declared has increased by 7 percent to almost half the land. The drought in New South Wales eased briefly in late 2007 and early 2008, but the dry weather returned soon after.
According to the National Climate Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, below average rainfall through April has intensified the water deficiencies in central and eastern Australia. As a result the water situation in nearby Victoria and Queensland is not much better. The exception lies in western parts of the country where recent rainfall has helped ease the drought conditions, allowing crops to be planted.
The high pressure system currently resting over the east of the country looks set to stay for at least the next week meaning the dry, settled conditions will continue.
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