Aerial images show devastating effects of Australia's 'worst drought in living memory'

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Fiona Simpson1 August 2018

Aerial images have revealed the devastating extent of eastern Australia’s "worst drought in living memory".

The harrowing photos, taken by Reuters, show starved cattle and sheep flocking to feed across bone dry soil.

Parts of New South Wales have experienced the lowest rainfall in almost 30 years, meteorologists said, leaving farmers unable to grow crops and feed their livestock.

Forecasters predicted highs of 48C in parts of Spain and Portugal by Friday while California's Death Valley recorded its hottest month ever with an average July temperature of 42.2C.

Kangroos hunt for water on a dessert-like farm in Gunnedah, New South Wales
REUTERS

Cattle farmer Tom Wollaston was born on the farm he now runs 70 years, and is afraid for what this drought will mean for his children who aim to take over the 2,300-hectare (5,683 acre) property when Tom "hangs up his boots".

"I can't seem to be able to do anything else apart from just feed, and keep things going, and it (the drought) seems to be one step ahead of me all the time. We'll battle it out, but it puts a strain on everyone," Mr Wollaston said.

May McKeown, 79, and her son Jimmie live on a farm in the New South Wales town of Walgett, and say they are extremely worried after noticing a decrease in rainfall since 2010. They described the current drought as "the worst in living memory".

Sheep gather for food in a drought-hit Paddock in Tamworth, New South Wales
REUTERS

"My great grandfather settled on this land in 1901, and he never had to remove cattle from the (western) paddocks but we have had to remove them all and bring them closer to the homestead so we can more easily feed them,” she said.

Dead trees in a drought-hit field in Gunnedah, New South Wales
REUTERS

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says parts of Australia experienced the second-warmest summer (December-February) on record and have just been through one of the driest and warmest autumns (March-May) on record.

The dry spell has left more than 95 percent of New South Wales in drought, according to Department of Primary Industries.

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