Droughts

Natural disasters have punctuated most years of their high school life, but this year's Heywire winners only have tales of resilience to share. 

Amid the worst drought on record in the Gascoyne, the impacts of extreme heat is being felt by people and wildlife alike, with emus digging up town pipelines and putting holes in them for a drink.

Millions of Australians up and down the east coast have sweltered through exceptionally high humidity in recent weeks. So where is the humidity coming from?

Residents in parts of the Pilbara, Midwest and Goldfields have been warned to brace for extreme heatwave conditions from Friday and into the weekend.

Convincing Australians that recycled water — purified water from kitchens, showers and toilets for reuse — is safe to consume hasn't always been easy, but it's being considered again as the pressure grows on water supplies.

Livestock producers in northern WA are bottle feeding calves and cutting back their herds, as devastating drought and market conditions collide.

Last year may have been the world's hottest at a global level but Australia's was comparatively subdued after recording its equal eighth warmest on record, according the Bureau of Meteorology's annual climate statement for 2023.

Experts say the times when children were sheltered from conversations about emergencies and disasters are over, and a newly developed toolkit will help have age-appropriate conversations as the emergency season looms.

Farming can be tough and normally the sound of rain is welcome, but for Tasmanian cherry farmers Gene and Laura, recent downpours had them "swearing and cursing", knowing their crop was unlikely to survive.

Farmers in far west NSW had made the "heartbreaking" decision to sell their livestock before a change in the weather gave them a far more positive outlook. 

As severe drought reduces output of the food staple — lifting prices, requiring increased imports and threatening food security — the Indonesian military is ordered to help farmers plant rice.

You've probably heard El Niño brings hot and dry weather to the eastern states, but what about the rest of Australia? Are we all in for a scorcher this summer?

Simplot Australia, which owns brands including Edgell, says natural disasters have led to a shortage of Australian-grown vegetables, forcing it to look outside the country for supply.

Storms that brought heavy rain in November have put a "handbrake" on the drought for some areas, but without follow-up falls farmers could be back to where they started.

Inundated with record numbers of baby bats, a Queensland wildlife group has flown 28 of their orphaned flying foxes to NSW to be cared for by volunteer "mums and dads".

After one of the worst winter seasons, heavy rain "means a hell of a lot" to many producers in New South Wales, where 70 per cent of the state is in drought.

Rain is falling onto dry farms, dry gardens and empty water tanks, much to the relief of farmers and firefighters after a very dry couple of months.

Farmers and water security experts question why more has not been done to bolster NSW's drought resilience during years of flood.

During the last drought, a family of Queensland beef producers did something radical to survive — they sold their cattle and used the money to buy goats. Lots of goats.

Many in this community booming with treechangers are demanding a moratorium on residential development, fearing new arrivals will put further pressure on their dwindling creek water supply.

Dry conditions across the state have seen farmers making tough decisions to either sell stock or spend heavily on feed to keep animals alive as they wait for rain.

As the next UN climate conference COP-28 draws closer, Germany's special envoy for climate diplomacy, Jennifer Morgan, is in Australia for meetings with key climate players.

Queensland graziers are being urged to sell their cattle as the state's bushfire emergency exacerbates an already dire national feed shortage.

Mrs Mitchell remained positive even when "eight-foot high" flames started rushing across her pastures. She knew that "once it got into the mowed area it would be simple to put out".

Some parts of Queensland have run out of water, and landholders are paying a heavy price as paddocks become parched.