WATCH: Australia's Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre fills rapidly after historic rainfall.
Satellite imagery has captured Australia's Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre filling rapidly throughout May following rains that heavily impacted parts of Queensland and New South Wales.The lake, which covers the lowest natural point in Australia - around 15m (49ft) below sea level - is normally dry. It only fills during periods of heavy rain with the water gradually evaporating to leave salt pans - hence the white appearance of the lake on the initial shots.While flooding has been widespread across parts of eastern Australia recently many in nearby South Australia and Victoria remain in the grips of drought.Climate scientists say these extremes have all the hall marks of a warming planet.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning to Bunnings shoppers over popular product sold in stores
Scientists have raised the alarm over a popular plant sold in hardware stores across Australia which could cause billions of dollars in environmental damage. The Gazania flower, an ornamental plant originally introduced to Australia between the 1950s and 1970s, is now considered highly invasive. The species poses a major threat to local ecosystems and the economy with warnings it could cost the agricultural sector up to $5billion a year. The once-decorative flower has since spread across vast areas, including grasslands, sand dunes, stream banks, roadsides, wastelands, and farmland in Western and Southern Australia. It is particularly problematic in grain crop fields in low-rainfall regions of South Australia, where farmers are struggling to control it using standard herbicides. Gazania plants and seeds are widely available for purchase across Australia, including at major retailers like Bunnings, Amazon, and online garden stores. 'There are major concerns that Gazania is killing productive land with crops unable to compete against such a vigorous weed,' researchers from LaTrobe University said. Muhammad Adnan, a PhD student at the La Trobe Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food (LISAF), led a study on the weed's resilience. Thousands of seeds were collected from across Australia to test how they responded to different environmental conditions. The research found the seeds could survive and germinate under a wide range of stress factors, including light and temperature extremes, salinity, moisture, and varied burial depths. 'It suggests they could become a problematic weed year-round in many parts of Australia, potentially leading to high infestation levels,' Mr Adnan said. The Invasive Species Council has called for a nationwide ban on the sale of Gazania. 'Gazanias are not only overrunning native grasslands, coastlines and roadsides, they are moving into grain production areas, choking out crops and costing farmers,' Invasive Species Council Advocacy Manager Imogen Ebsworth said. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Bunnings said its sale of the flower complies with all relevant regulations. 'Like many nurseries and retailers, we sell a wide range of locally-sourced plants across our stores and we work hard to create an assortment that caters to customer preferences and demand,' a spokesperson said. 'As always, we closely follow all relevant local biosecurity regulations and the advice of regulators about the plants we sell.' The Victorian Government has officially listed Gazania as a highly invasive species, and South Australia banned the plant altogether in March 2021.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Warning issued to anyone thinking of buying a more affordable country home: These areas could soon be uninsurable
Australians thinking of moving to a regional area are being cautioned to check first whether their affordable dream property could turn out to be uninsurable. Young workers priced out of buying in Australia's increasingly unaffordable capital cities are looking to regional areas to secure a house, especially if they can work from home. But buying regional real estate presents some issues much less likely in a big city, such as the risk of floods or bushfires. Last month, 16 local government areas in the NSW Hunter and on the state's Mid-North Coast were declared natural disaster areas after floods triggered 6,000 insurance claims - 80 per cent of which were for damaged homes. The Climate Council has warned that up to half of the homes in these areas are at a high to moderate risk of being affected by a natural disaster. This will lead to insurance premiums rising to levels where they are unaffordable for the average-income earner, with premiums of $30,000 no longer considered unusual in areas located near rivers. Of Australia's 10 zones most prone to a natural disaster, seven are in regional areas. In NSW, five regional areas north of Sydney are in the high-risk category, along with northern Victoria, southern Queensland and areas around Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Economist Nicki Hutley, a consultant with the Climate Council, said the risk warranted a serious revision of any plans to move to those areas, regardless of how cheap the land may appear to be. 'They need to reconsider moving to some higher-risk regional areas,' Ms Hutley told Daily Mail Australia. 'This is a really hard message to sell but we want people to really understand what is the risk. 'The answer may not be "don't move there", the answer may be that community infrastructure reduces the risks significantly.' Maitland, in the NSW Hunter Valley, is Australia's fifth most popular local government area for internal migration, based on Commonwealth Bank customer data provided to the Regional Australia Institute. The Mid-Coast council area, covering flood-ravaged Taree, was 13th on the list for relocators, and was recently soaked with 500mm of rain in just four days. Both of these council areas, with population centres along a major river, fall within the federal electorate of Lyne. Climate Council mapping showed a whopping 45.7 per cent of homes in this electorate were at a moderate to high risk of natural disasters. They are also near the Labor-held Hunter electorate where 50.3 per cent of properties are at risk, with 12.9 per cent at high risk. Port Macquarie, which also suffered from recent flooding, is eighth on the list of popular regional locations for those moving from another part of Australia. This part of the NSW mid-north coast falls within the Nationals-held seat of Cowper, where a majority or 57.2 per cent of homes are at risk of a climate hazard. The Tweed council area, on the NSW far north coast, was 15th on the list of relocation hotspots, and falls within the Labor-held seat of Richmond where 47 per cent of properties are at risk, including 28.9 per cent at high risk. On the NSW South Coast, the Shoalhaven area was the seventh most popular spot for movers, and fell within the Labor-held seat of Gilmore where 36.9 per cent of properties are at risk. The Climate Council also listed 10 federal electorates where average, insurance costs are more likely to be unaffordable, because damage from natural disasters was likely to cost one per cent of a home's value in repairs. 'Uninsurable is saying that the premiums are at such a level that a person on average income could not possibly afford them and/or insurance companies have pulled that product from the market,' Ms Hutley said. 'Sometimes there are areas where house and contents insurance is available but not for specific kinds of risks like flood or fire because the area is considered too risky for the insurance company.' Port Macquarie, which also suffered from recent flooding, is eighth on the list of popular regional locations for those moving from another part of Australia. This part of the NSW mid-north coast falls within the Nationals-held seat of Cowper, where a majority or 57.2 per cent of homes are at risk of a climate hazard Seven out of 10 of these hotspots were in regional areas, where it would be unaffordable to insure homes and businesses. 'Clearly, people move there because property is cheaper and it's not just because of climate risk,' she said. 'As the events recur, that is likely to have further impact on property prices.' Lismore, on the NSW far north coast, is particularly affordable after a series of devastating floods, having a median house price of just $472,923, based on CoreLogic data. This is less than half the national house price of $898,604. 'People expect they were snapping up a bargain, that they would take on the insurance risk themselves,' Ms Hutley said. The city is also in the federal Nationals seat of Page, where 51.8 per cent of properties are at risk, with 16.9 per cent deemed high risk. This makes regional living a particularly fraught decision for many people unless they were able to spend tens of thousands of dollars on raising the level of their house. 'You don't want to be buying a house in an area where you know there are designated risks of flooding and you're one block back from the river that's got no levees or flood protection unless you're able to do something with the property,' she said. 'That's obviously very expensive and not everybody can do that type of thing. 'Clearly, climate change is exacerbating - what we're now calling "unnatural disasters" and particularly flood risk is getting worse so there are areas where people are still moving to which, if not today, then certainly within the next couple of decades; they're facing significantly elevated risk.' Areas of Australia deemed high risk in 2025 The Climate Council has named 10 federal electorates most at risk of flood or bushfire damage, with seven of them in regional areas 1. RICHMOND: Justine Elliot's Labor seat on the far north coast of New South Wales where 28.9 per cent of properties at a high risk with 31,564 in this category 2. NICHOLLS: Sam Birrell's Nationals seat in northern Victoria where 25.5 per cent of properties at high risk with 26,055 in this category 3. MAYO: Rebekha Sharkie's Centre Alliance seat in the Adelaide Hills where 17.5 per cent of properties at high risk with 20,177 in this category 4. BRISBANE: Madonna Jarrett's Labor seat in south-east Queensland where 12.8 per cent of properties at high risk with 18,878 in this category 5. PAGE: Deputy Nationals leader Kevin Hogan's seat on the NSW north coast where 16.9 per cent of properties at high risk with 18,636 in this category 6. MARANOA: Nationals leader David Littleproud's seat in southern Queensland where 13.7 per cent of properties at high risk with 18,499 in this category 7. ROBERTSON: Gordon Reid's Labor seat on the NSW Central Coast with 14.7 per cent of properties at high risk with 14,063 in this category 8. BULLWINKEL: Trish Cook's Labor seat on Perth's eastern outskirts with 15.6 per cent of properties at high risk with 12,719 in this category 9. DOBELL: Emma McBride's Labor seat on the NSW Central Coast with 13.9 per cent of properties at high risk with 12,569 in this category 10. HUNTER: Dan Repacholi's Labor seat west of Newcastle with 12.9 per cent of properties at high risk with 12,363 in this category
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
How groundwater pumping is causing cities to sink at 'worrying speed'
Cities around the world are sinking at 'worrying speed' Animation enabled Twenty-two years ago, when Erna stood outside her house, 'the windows were as high as my chest'. Now they're knee-height. As their home has sunk, she and her family have had to cope with frequent flooding. In the most extreme cases 'we used canoes - the water kept coming in and swamped the ground floor', she says. Erna lives in the Indonesian capital Jakarta - one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world. Her home is in one of the worst-affected areas, the north of the city, and is now much lower than the road. The 37-year-old grew up here and remembers playing in nearby streets and praying in the mosque - that is now long gone, permanently underwater, as is the old port. The walls of her home, built in the 1970s, are cracked, and you can see where thick layers of concrete have been added to the floor to try to restore it to ground level - about 10 times since it was built, and a metre thick in some places. The house is still subsiding, and Erna can't afford to move. Erna and her mother, Soni, have had to raise the floors in their home many times This is one of dozens of coastal regions that are sinking at a worrying speed, according to a study by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. The team studied subsidence in and around 48 coastal cities in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. These are places that are particularly vulnerable to a combination of rising sea levels, which are mainly driven by climate change, and sinking land. Based on the study and population data from the United Nations, the BBC estimates that nearly 76 million people live in parts of these cities that subsided, on average, at least 1cm per year between 2014 and 2020. The impact on their lives can be huge - for example in Tianjin in north-east China, 3,000 people were evacuated from high-rise apartment buildings in 2023, after subsidence left large cracks in nearby streets. All 48 urban areas in the NTU study are shown in this globe. The most extreme cases of subsidence were seen in Tianjin, which has undergone rapid industrial and infrastructural development this century. The worst-hit parts of the city sank up to 18.7cm per year between 2014 and 2020. Select a city below to see how much it is sinking by. A map will display the most subsiding areas in that city in green, with details of factors contributing to subsidence. The subsidence rate is measured from a reference point in each city, which scientists assume is more stable than others - you can read more on the methodology at the end of this article. Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire Ahmedabad, India Alexandria, Egypt Bangkok, Thailand Barcelona, Spain Buenos Aires, Argentina Chennai, India Chittagong, Bangladesh Choose a city Dalian, China Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Dhaka, Bangladesh Dongguan, China Foshan, China Fukuoka, Japan Guangzhou, China Hangzhou, China Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Hong Kong, China Houston, United States Istanbul, Türkiye Jakarta, Indonesia Karachi, Pakistan Kolkata, India Lagos, Nigeria Lima, Peru London, United Kingdom Los Angeles, United States Luanda, Angola Manila, Philippines Miami, United States Mumbai, India Nagoya, Japan Nanjing, China New York, United States Osaka, Japan Philadelphia, United States Qingdao, China Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Seoul, South Korea Shanghai, China Singapore, Singapore St Petersburg, Russia Surat, India Suzhou, China Tianjin, China Tokyo, Japan Washington DC, United States Yangon, Myanmar A 3d model viewer showing land subsidence in the selected city Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 0 Please wait, a three-dimensional map is currently loading... Tap and move to rotate, pinch to zoom Fastest observed sinking Reference point Landmark Avenida 4 de , Fevereiro Ilha da Cazanga 0 -3.3 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Barrio Padre , Mugica Casa Rosada Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -1.5 Sandwip Para Chittagong Port Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -9.8 Basundhara , Residential , Area Bangladesh , National Museum Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -3.6 Rio das Pedras Christ the , Redeemer 0 -6.3 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Dalian Jinzhou , Bay , International , Airport Hongji Grand , Stage Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -16.4 Dongguan , Central Square Nongyuwei 0 -6.5 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Baofeng Temple Beijiaozhen 0 -6.3 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Nansha District The Canton , Tower 0 -6.8 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Central , Xiaoshan , district Lingyin Temple 0 -3.4 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Yongning , Subdistrict Nanjing City , Wall 0 -2.5 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Yinghai , Subdistrict, , Jiaozhou City Qingdao Railway , Station 0 -8 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Yingbin , Expressway Shanghai Tower 0 -10.3 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Classical , Gardens of , Suzhou North-west , Wujiang 0 -4.8 Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -18.7 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Bohai Bay Guwenhua Street East Abobo , district St Paul's , Cathedral Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -5.1 Adh Dheraa Al , Bahri Lighthouse of , Alexandria Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -2.7 Tuen Mun Vitoria Peak 0 -10.6 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Sidi Saiyyed , Mosque Piplaj Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -5.1 Tharamani Kapaleeshwarar , Temple Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -3.7 Bhatpara Victoria , Memorial 0 -2.8 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Gateway of , India Area near , King's Circle , station, , Matunga East 0 -5.9 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Karanj Surat Diamond , Bourse 0 -6.7 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Penjaringan National , Monument 0 -11.6 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Mochimaru, , Asakura , district Fukuoka Tower Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -5.7 Minato ward Atsuta-jingu , Shrine 0 -1.5 Observed subsidence per year (cm) East Konohana , ward Osaka Castle 0 -7.8 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Central , Breakwater, , Koto ward Tokyo Skytree 0 -2.4 Observed subsidence per year (cm) South Dagon , Township Shwedagon , Pagoda 0 -7.5 Observed subsidence per year (cm) City Hall Orange Island 0 -13.1 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Landhi Town Mazar-E-Quaid 0 -15.7 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Ancón district Lima Main , Square 0 -2.4 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Manila Bay Fort Santiago 0 -5.7 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Lakhta Winter Palace 0 -2.9 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Changi Bay Merlion Park 0 -4.6 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Area near , Sinjeong subway , station, , Yangcheon , District Blue House 0 -2 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Sagrada Familia Zona Franca Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -7 Kigamboni , district Askari Monument Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -3 Democracy , Monument Lam Phakchi, , Nong Chok Observed subsidence per year (cm) 0 -4.1 Istanbul , Airport Hagia Sophia 0 -13.2 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Big Ben South Upminster 0 -4 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Central , Southwest Sam Houston , Park 0 -11 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Hollywood Sign Coastal San , Pedro 0 -2.5 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Freedom Tower Coconut Grove 0 -2.2 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Breezy Point Central Park 0 -3 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Holmesburg Independence , Hall 0 -2.3 Observed subsidence per year (cm) South-west , Washington Memorial , Lincoln 0 -2.2 Observed subsidence per year (cm) East Nhà Bè Independence , Palace 0 -9.5 Observed subsidence per year (cm) Choose another city An animated line break showing building slowly sinking The perils of groundwater pumping Many factors can contribute to subsidence, including building, mining, tectonic shifts, earthquakes, and natural soil consolidation - where soil is pressed closer and becomes more dense over time. But 'one of the most common causes is groundwater extraction', explains the lead researcher on the NTU study, Cheryl Tay. It has had a major impact in half of the 48 coastal cities identified in the study. Groundwater is found beneath the Earth's surface in cracks and spaces in sand, soil and rock. It makes up about half of the water used for domestic purposes - including drinking - around the world. It's also essential for irrigating crops. But as cities grow, freshwater supplies come under strain. Households and industries in some places drill their own wells or boreholes and extract too much - as in Jakarta. Extracting excessive amounts of water in this way over extended periods of time compresses the soil, eventually causing the surface - and everything built on it - to sink or subside. 'A lot of the sinking cities are in Asia or South-East Asia,' says Ms Tay. 'That is likely because the demand for water is much higher there with very fast-growing populations and a lot of development. 'That could lead to higher rates of groundwater extraction and then this could snowball… This means that flooding will be more frequent, intense, and prolonged in the future,' she adds, explaining there could also be 'salt water intrusion that can affect agricultural land and the quality of drinking water'. Some types of ground are affected more than others and Ms Tay believes the risks are especially acute for the many coastal cities built on low-lying deltas - where rivers divide before flowing into the sea. This includes places such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Shanghai. Almost half of Jakarta now sits below sea level. Its location on swampy land where 13 rivers flow into the ocean makes it particularly vulnerable. The combination of land sinking and sea levels rising accelerates the 'relative sea level rise', says Ms Tay. 'There are two components: the land moving down and the water moving up.' Flooding in Jakarta leaves residential and business districts underwater Indonesia's meteorological agency has said that 'the flood cycle, which used to occur every five years, could become more frequent' in Jakarta as 'the overall trend of extreme rainfall is increasing in Indonesia, in line with rising surface temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations'. Over the past decade, dozens have died in floods in the city and at least 280,000 people have had to leave their homes until the water receded. With parts of Jakarta now 4m lower than they were in 1970, Indonesia decided to build a new capital city - Nusantara - on a different island, Borneo, more than 1,200km (750 miles) away. It is further from the coast and will rely on a huge dam and reservoir to store river and rainwater. The plan is to purify and distribute water to all homes and offices in the new capital, eliminating the need to extract groundwater. However, the new city is controversial and development has slowed. There has been criticism of the $34bn price tag and its environmental impact on one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Buildings in Ebute Metta, Lagos, where Rukkayat lives, are sinking - the white dotted line shows the highlighted structure's original position Five of the cities studied by NTU are in Africa, including Lagos in Nigeria. Last year, flooding affected more than 275,000 people there. Twenty-eight-year-old Rukkayat moved to Ebute Metta, in the east of the city, three years ago in search of work and a better life. But she could only afford to rent a house in a sinking area - one of the locations identified in the NTU report. 'It's hard to live in a place where it gets easily flooded if downpours or storms hit the city,' she says. 'I have to scoop water out of the corridor.' The walls of the house are cracked, the floor is damp and the roof leaks - a common situation in sinking areas, experts say. Both Lagos and Jakarta are facing rapid urbanisation and growing populations with more than half unable to access piped water, turning instead to pumping groundwater themselves. An animated line break showing water flowing under landmarks The bowl effect As many coastal cities deal with the combination of subsiding land and rising seas, they are looking for solutions - but these can sometimes contribute to other problems. Some, including Jakarta, Alexandria in Egypt and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam have built dykes, walls and sand barriers along their coastlines to try to prevent flooding from the sea. A seawall was built to stop seawater swamping homes in North Jakarta Alexandria has built concrete breakwaters to protect the city from the sea But as walls get higher and bigger, a 'bowl effect' can be created, says Prof Pietro Teatini of the University of Padova in Italy, potentially trapping rain and river water in areas and preventing it from flowing back into the sea. This can contribute to flooding. So, to drain excess water, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City are among those that have built pumping stations. However, this does not address the causes of subsidence or flooding. How Tokyo solved the problem When Tokyo found parts of its city were subsiding, it took a different approach and decided to tackle the root of the problem. The sinking slowed significantly in the 1970s after Tokyo imposed strict regulations on groundwater pumping. It also built a water supply management system, which scientists argue is the most efficient way to stop subsidence. The NTU study found that today the city is much more stable, although a few small areas have sunk by between 0.01 and 2.4cm per year between 2014 and 2020. So, how does Tokyo's system work? Almost all of Tokyo's water comes from forests and rivers controlled by two big dams outside the city. The water is purified in 10 plants and sent to a supply centre. The centre regulates the volume and pressure of the water. The centre distributes the water to homes and industries via pipes designed to resist earthquake damage. Despite the effectiveness of Tokyo's system, scientists are sceptical it can be applied widely given the high build and maintenance costs, says Prof Miguel Esteban of Waseda University in Japan. Nonetheless, he adds, some Asian cities still look at Tokyo's approach as a model. Taipei, for example, reduced groundwater extraction in the 1970s which, in turn, helped to slow down its subsidence rates. Many other cities - including Houston, Bangkok and London - also carefully regulate groundwater pumping to ensure it is neither too low nor too high. Some cities have tried different methods. Shanghai, for instance, has applied 'water injection, which works very well', says Prof Teatini. It injected purified water from the Yangtze River into the ground through wells that had previously been used to extract groundwater. Others, such as Chongqing in China and San Salvador in El Salvador, have adopted the principles of sponge cities. Instead of simply using non-porous concrete and asphalt in areas such as pavements, a sponge city makes use of surfaces that are designed to absorb water naturally, such as soil, grass and trees. The construction of parks, wetlands and green spaces is prioritised, along with lakes and ponds where water can be diverted and stored during the rainy season. The roof of this building on the edge of Chongqing is designed to absorb water and help manage heavy rainfall A residential complex in Berlin has been designed with areas to store and absorb water This may offer a 'more viable and sustainable solution, it costs only a tenth of building dams', says Prof Manoochehr Shirzaei of Virginia Tech University. But critics say that it is hard to add these features to existing developments and often they are not installed on a large enough scale to make a big difference. And behind any investment, there needs to be long-term political commitment, says Prof Shirzaei. 'Land subsidence emerges gradually over time, so to deal with that, we have to take difficult decisions which remain in place for decades,' he says, even if pumping restrictions are initially unpopular with voters who rely on wells and boreholes for water. Without change, experts warn there will be more people like Erna, fighting a losing battle as their homes gradually slip away. A note on methodology For its study the NTU chose coastal urban agglomerations within 50km (30 miles) of the coast, with a population of at least five million in 2020. It analysed satellite images, comparing data from 2014 to 2020 to estimate subsidence rates. The subsidence rate is measured from a reference point in each city, which scientists assume is more stable than others. However, if the reference point is also sinking or rising, other parts of the city might be sinking faster or slower than the measurements suggest. This could affect the BBC estimates of how many people are affected. The subsidence rates used here should therefore be seen as a relative measure, helping to identify which areas are likely more affected than others. A line break showing a wave
