E-3 Australian Drought

Australia calls drought summit as economy threatenedSYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister John Howard has called an emergency drought summit as climate change and rising interest rates threaten a 10-year economic boom -- and his grip on power. ADVERTISEMENT

Shaping up as the worst drought since white settlement more than 200 years ago, the "big dry" is likely to cut agricultural output by 20 percent and
GDP by around 0.7 percent, government officials say.

"Frightening" study predicts hotter, drier Australia