Ground zero: rain-starved southern Australia is grappling with one of the worst droughts in recent memory
Rainfall picked up in June and July in some areas but it may already be too lateSign up for The Crunch email newsletterIn a “normal” year, dairy farmer Bernie Free would start seeing green shoots in his paddocks in early May. This year the germination did not arrive until July – which means...
<p>Rainfall picked up in June and July in some areas but it may already be too late</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2023/nov/08/sign-up-for-the-crunch-newsletter-our-free-email-with-the-best-charts-graphs-and-dataviz">Sign up for The Crunch email newsletter</a></p></li></ul><p>In a “normal” year, dairy farmer Bernie Free would start seeing green shoots in his paddocks in early May. This year the germination did not arrive until July – which means “naturally less sunshine, less warmth and so on – the grass grows slower”, he says.</p><p>In the two years to September, southern Australia has had much lower than average rainfall – the lowest on record in some parts of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. It is a drought so bad that some farmers are searching for comparisons in the 1960s and <a href="https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/news/1914-monument-drought">even as far back as 1914</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2025/sep/17/southern-australia-one-of-worst-droughts-recent-memory-rain-starved">Continue reading...</a>
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