Drought
![Dry landscape burning with red son and black trees](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/IMG_5087-scaled.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
A dry landscape and a dire season: we explain the current bushfire environment
Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) north coast residents continue to battle poor air quality as a result of fires burning through the state. Our bushfire expert Andrew Sullivan delves beyond the smoke haze to explain the current crisis and the tough conditions ahead.
![Field of barley. Image: Julia Hausler](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Barley.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Making hay out of drought
As one farming couple discovered during the Millennium Drought, smart and evolving farm management is key to successfully exiting drought and preparing for future droughts.
![A bushfire burns in the distance in Victoria.](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Distant-bushfire_Victoria.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Climate change and extreme events – quantifying the changing odds
The field of climate change event attribution research has emerged recently and can provide new insights into Australian climate extremes.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/male-dorper-sheep-web.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Regional climate guides put data in the hands of farmers
BoM, CSIRO and FarmLink have combined expertise to develop climate guides for Australia’s 56 NRM regions.
![Cut for hay.](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/field-3186902_1920.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Unravelling the boom-bust nature of fodder in drought
Cut for hay or grow to grain? A pilot trial unlocks information about the fodder market during times of drought and aims to help farm finances and aid drought relief.
![Wheat spike.](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/wheat-spike.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Overcoming the difficulty of breeding drought tolerant wheat
With a genome five times larger than the human genome, identifying what genes in wheat are responsible for what traits to build drought tolerance is difficult.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/RS14243_dji1553061925819-lpr.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Yes, we can reach $100 billion ag target – here’s how
Australia needs to overcome a $40 billion shortfall in agricultural productivity over the next decade, but it’s not an impossible task.
![river bed](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/dyer_fitzroy_094.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Understanding water pressures
With many surface water storages, such as reservoirs, empty or critically low, groundwater (underground aquifers fed by rainfall and found in cracks or pores in rock) supplies are critical for many Australian communities and industries.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ecos.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Groundwater-sampling-at-a-salt-lake-in-the-Murray-Darling-Basin-to-test-for-iron-levels.jpg?resize=385%2C256&ssl=1)
Can water banking guard against a future ‘Day Zero’?
As the water count down continues to 'Day Zero' in regional centres in New South Wales and Queensland, how can science provide greater water security into the future?