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Worsening Drought Threatens Australia's "Food Bowl"

The Murray-Darling Basin crisis threatens Australia's agriculture, worsening drought conditions signal a dire need for sustainable solutions.

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An agricultural region that produces over 40 percent of Australia's fruit, vegetables, and grain is seriously threatened by the country's ongoing drought, which has been developing into a crisis over the last decade. Scientists say that the two mighty rivers that irrigate the Murray-Darling Basin (an area the size of France and Germany combined) received the lowest amount of replenishing autumn rain since record-keeping began over a century ago.

Neil Plummer, acting head of the National Climate Centre, described rainfall during the southern hemisphere autumn as "an absolute shocker", and said: "I'm gasping for good news". Wendy Craik, chief executive of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, said the river system's condition was "critical... tending towards flatlining". She added: "We have got it on life support" [The Independent].

Researchers say that Australia, the driest continent inhabited by humans, may suffer severe consequences from global warming, with droughts and heat waves coming more ...

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