Drought

New sensing techniques can detect drought tolerance in ancient relatives of wheat and barley. Making it possible to use these traits to breed new food crops for a warmer world

Extreme heat and fires in the Northern Hemisphere should be a loud wakeup call for an Australia in El Niño and on the brink of a difficult fire season

For drought-busting rains, Australia might just have to wait for the tropical oceans to serve up some moisture, finds new research

Many Australians blame our variable climate for the recent severe bushfires and crippling drought, but researchers say these ‘natural’ disasters are not natural at all

A giant, continent-sized cloud that dumps rain from Broome to Hobart has increased in frequency over the past 33 years, but its impact may not be what you expect

Decision-makers have significant discretion when it comes to regulating groundwater, but there is too little transparency about how it is used and its effect on the local environment

Globally, around 500 million people experience water shortages and that figure is only going up; but good governance and smart water management could lead to collaboration rather than competition

The drought affecting Australia’s eastern states is challenging the economy, but how government responds to the needs of farmers must be well planned and continuing rather than ad hoc

Turning on the Wonthaggi water desalination plant now rather than later will save money in the long run and head off an emergency later

While wet weather makes a small impact on bushfire risk, long-term trends are much more important