Climate Decade in Review - Post 22: Australia in Drought for Entirety of the 00's

2002 to present - Australia has been experiencing a significant drought event that began in 2002, centered in the Southwest part of the continent. The resultant dust storms in Sydney in the fall of 2009 were headline news worldwide, but the impact on agriculture as well as other water restrictions have been felt for several years. Many farmers have found it difficult or impossible to stay in business. Some climate scientists believe that this climatic change may be permanent, making parts of Australia that were previously semi-arid into desert.

Many scientists link the drought directly to climate change. A study released in early 2010 linked lower rainfall in Australia with higher precipitation in Antarctica. Essentially the precipitation has moved as a result of climatic changes resulting from higher levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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This is one in the series of "Decade in Review" posts on this blog that began in January 2010. These posts present climate-change-related events that occurred during the 00's, the warmest decade in recorded history.

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