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Droughts – In my Backyard?

Australia has a long history of droughts. Some droughts last for a long time, while other droughts can be short, but cause lots of damage.

A farm affected by Drought

All droughts affect people who live on the land, in farms and even in the city.

Weather researchers predict that droughts affect Australia about every 18 years. That means that droughts are something that we should be used to and be prepared for.

Droughts in Australia

Droughts affect Australia on a regular basis. We are currently experiencing a drought that started in 2003 and has been called the “Big Dry”.

Here are some other major droughts that have affected Australia:

• 1864 to 1866 – this drought affected all States in Australia, except Tasmania.
• 1880 to 1886 – the southern States of Australia were affected, especially along the east of the country.
• 1895 to 1903 – this was one of the most severe droughts in Australia. It caused the death of almost half of all sheep and cattle in the country.
• 1911 to 1916 – 19 million sheep and 2 million cattle died from lack of water.
• 1918 to 1920 – only parts of Western Australia were not affected by drought.
• 1939 to 1945 – nearly 30 million sheep died during this six year drought.
• 1963 to 1968 – this drought destroyed almost half of Australia’s wheat crop and 20 million sheep.
• 1982 to 1983 – this was an intense drought that affected many areas of Australia.
• 1991 to 1995 – a long-term drought that affected rural producers and cost about $5 billion to Australia.

Droughts around the World

Droughts happen all across the world. Drought affects countries in the northern hemisphere as well as in the southern hemisphere.

Droughts in the northern hemisphere

• Europe – areas in Italy, such as Sicily have very regular droughts.
• Asia – northern China, Afghanistan and the Middle East are often affected by droughts.
• Africa – drought affects African countries such as Ethiopia, Benin and Ghana.
• North America – parts of Canada, Colorado, California and Idaho are often affected by drought.

Droughts in the southern hemisphere

• Australia
• Africa – large areas in Central and South Africa have droughts.
• Pacific Islands – parts of Papua New Guinea are affected by rainfall shortages and droughts.
• South America – severe droughts affect Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia.

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