SHORT BUT SHARP - THE 1982-83 DROUGHT In terms of short-term rainfall deficiencies (up to one year) and their overall impact, the 1982-83 drought was perhaps Australia's most severe in the 20th century. In autumn 1982 reasonable rains were fairly widespread, except for southern Western Australia, which had an exceptionally dry autumn. With the coming of winter, however, intense drought became established in most areas east of a line from Alice Springs to Ceduna. Clear skies and low atmospheric moisture levels were accompanied by frequent severe frosts in June & July. By the end of August the wheat crop in eastern Australia was on the verge of failure, and sheep prices plummeted as graziers reduced flocks. Very dry conditions persisted through spring over eastern Australia (except in coastal areas of northern NSW), with extensive areas experiencing record or near-record low rainfall totals from April to December. By November, dry soil in northwestern Victoria was blown away as dust; water restrictions were imposed in Melbourne; and on 24 November the earliest Total Fire Ban in 40 years was proclaimed in Victoria. The upper Murrumbidgee River became a chain of waterholes: by year's end reservoirs fell to levels not known for many years. The remains of Tallangatta and Bonnie Doon, Victorian towns relocated in the 1950s to allow enlargement of Lake Hume and Lake Eildon, emerged from the shrinking waters. The summer Wet season failed in the Northern Territory and north Queensland, with record low summer rainfall in some areas. What little rain there was often fell on bare earth and without follow-up, and was therefore of little use. Only northeastern NSW and southeastern Queensland truly escaped the drought. The nadir was reached in February 1983, with record low rainfall in parts of Tasmania, and virtually none at all in Victoria. Fires flared in southeastern Tasmania on the 1st and 8th, spectacular dust-storms swept Victoria on the 8th, and the Ash Wednesday fires devastated Victoria and South Australia on the 16th. In far eastern Victoria, fires burned unchecked for most of the month. Relief came at last in March: ironically, the first rains arrived inopportunely at grape harvest time in South Australia and Victoria. An intense low pressure system then developed over northwestern Australia on the 12th, and over the next week drifted eastward with heavy rain and flooding. It then tracked south over NSW and Victoria, reaching Tasmania by the 23rd. Substantial rain fell over almost all the drought area, with many record March totals. Abundant follow-up rains in April and May signified the end of the drought.
Rainfall deficiencies for the 12 months ended February 1983. Significant areas of southeastern Australia had their driest March-February period on record (bright red). A much broader area had one of their driest such periods on record. |
Total losses attributed to this drought exceeded $3 billion.
Its association with the very strong El Niño event of 1982-83 marked the
transformation of El Niño from abstract climate phenomenon to common language,
and set the scene for many of today's climate forecasting techniques.