<
https://theconversation.com/the-murrumbidgee-rivers-wet-season-height-has-dropped-by-30-since-the-1990s-and-the-outlook-is-bleak-165764>
"The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia’s biggest agricultural region, producing
almost 40% of the national food supply during the growing season from April to
September. It’s filled with criss-crossing rivers, wetlands and lakes farmers
rely on for crops, and it’s home to a range of freshwater wildlife, many of
which are under threat.
But our new research found climate change since the 1990s has drastically
reduced the amount of water available in the southern part of the basin.
The height of the Murrumbidgee River — the third longest in Australia and
highly valued for irrigation and hydro-electricity — has dropped by about 30%
during the growing season. This is a loss of approximately 300 million litres
per day that would normally flow past Wagga Wagga, New South Wales — the same
as six days of water use in the City of Melbourne.
The findings follow a major report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change released on Monday, which found much of Australia will become more arid
as the world warms. This will bring reduced river flows, mass tree deaths, more
droughts and drier soils."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
