Drought in Australia
Drought is one of Australia's most severe and costly climate challenges. It affects us all and the impacts can be distressing.
We provide services to help Australians prepare for drought. For the latest drought information, view our Drought Statement.
What is drought?
Drought is a prolonged, abnormally dry period when there's not enough water available to meet normal use.
It's not simply low rainfall – if it was, much of inland Australia would almost always be in drought.
To know whether an area is in drought, we need to know how much water is available and how that compares to normal conditions.
Declaring a drought
In Australia, droughts are officially declared by governments – the federal government and some states and territories. The Bureau does not declare that areas are in drought.
Governments consider rainfall and water availability as some of the factors in their decisions to declare drought.
In this section, explore:
- what causes a drought, types of drought and how much rain is needed to break a drought
- how climate change is making droughts more likely in some parts of Australia
- the services we provide to help Australians predict and prepare for drought.
Video: Understanding drought
They can vary in the size of the area affected, the intensity, and how long they last.
So what do we mean by drought?
There are several types of drought.
'Meteorological drought' relates directly to less rain than usual.
Australia's rainfall is highly variable.
When somewhere receives less rain than usual, we say it has a 'rainfall deficiency'.
If there is much less rain than usual, we might talk of 'serious' or even 'severe' rainfall deficiencies.
Continued low rainfall can mean less runoff and lead to 'hydrological drought', especially when combined with high temperatures.
River levels fall, water storages drop, and soils become drier.
This lack of water can go on to affect people and their livelihoods.
Agricultural drought means reduced productivity, lost income and a strain on those communities.
Socio-economic drought sees effects spreading through the wider community.
In fact, our whole environment is vulnerable during drought.
It's not easy to say when a drought is over, or even how much rainfall is needed.
There may be enough rain at the right time of year to grow a crop, but not enough to replenish water storages.
In some cases it could take many wet months for the landscape, waterways and communities to recover.
Once the environment and the community have enough water to meet their needs, we can consider the drought to be over.
And with Australia's changing climate, some parts of the country are expected to spend more time in drought.
Alongside warmer temperatures, these droughts may be more intense.
Use our website to find out about drought in your area.