Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
It is one of the driest places on Earth, [2] though there are several anecdotal accounts of rainfall within the Dry Valleys. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The region is one of the world's most extreme deserts , and includes many features including Lake Vida , a saline lake, and the Onyx River , a meltwater stream and Antarctica's longest river .
While extreme high temperatures are more common inland than they are near the coast, notable extreme maxima have been observed near the coast; 50.7 °C at Onslow, 50.5 °C at Mardie, 49.9 °C at Nullarbor, South Australia, 49.8 °C at Eucla, South Australia and 49.5 °C at Port Augusta, South Australia.
As Australia is the driest inhabited continent, such droughts can limit the streamflow of the few major rivers in the country, creating a myriad of knock-on effects. [27] Droughts are especially detrimental to Australian agricultural industries, who face unpredictability in their quantity of produce.
There is a large sign in Oodnadatta claiming the town is "The driest town, the driest state of the driest Continent". [37] Extreme temperatures have ranged from −4.0 °C (24.8 °F) on 16 July 1979 to 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) on 2 January 1960, the highest reliably measured maximum temperature in Australia.
Australia recorded the driest October in more than 20 years due to an El Nino weather pattern which has seen hot, dry conditions hit crop yields in one of the world's largest wheat exporters, the ...
A population density map of Australia. Most of the continent is very sparsely populated, but only a few areas are truly deserted. Even the driest regions of Australia have indigenous communities within them. In 1984, a previously uncontacted family of Pintupi emerged from the Gibson Desert. [4]
Australia is the second driest continent (after Antarctica), and frequent droughts have led to the introduction of water restrictions in all parts of Australia. This has led to concern about water security in Australia by environmentalists, irrigators and state and federal governments.
Australia's climatic zones. Most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, [28] making it the world's driest continent after Antarctica. The movement of the monsoon trough is linked to the peak of the rainy season within the continent. [29] Northern portions of the continent see the most rainfall, which is concentrated in the summer months.