Parts of South Australia record driest year ever

It's been extremely dry across South Australia, with some regions recording their driest year ever.

Transcript

00:00We had some of our lowest rainfalls on record in areas like the Mid North, York Peninsula

00:09and Northern Adelaide. It's according to the Bureau of Meteorology's early data for 2024,

00:15showing that places like Minleton in the York Peninsula received only 182 millimetres of

00:21rain. That's half its average and given that's known as the barley capital of the world for

00:27its crop production, that's a really tough year. Thirsty towns south of the state had

00:32record lows too, in Port Vincent, Maitland and the Werribara Forest. Kangaroo Island

00:38as well got nearly half its usual pour. Even Metro Adelaide had its driest year since 2006,

00:46so it's no wonder gardeners like myself had to water more. And in contrast, Moomba in

00:52the very northeast of SA got a drenching. 155% more rain than usual thanks to tropical

01:00moisture getting dragged down the country. So looking at the big picture, our farmers

01:05had a really tough year. Mother Nature did not do them any favours and considering the

01:10dry and also some frost events, our crop harvest is expected to be the lowest in 15 years.

01:17So for 2025, our hopes and dreams are really to get more rain.