Behind the Big Dry

Living on Earth

Scientists are struggling to understand the climatic conditions behind the unusually severe drought that has wreaked havoc on southeastern Australia. New research suggests the answer might lie in the Indian Ocean, where the disruption of a natural cycle is keeping moisture at bay. Climatologist Caroline Ummenhofer, a research fellow with the University of New South Wales, talks with host Bruce Gellerman about how the warming Indian Ocean could be compounding the effects of rising temperatures in an already warming temperatures.

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