'Flash droughts', such as the one that struck the Upper Hunter in 2023, are likely to increase as the region's climate becomes more volatile, climate scientists have warned.

Upper Hunter farmers noticed the region was drying out in early 2023. Cattle prices collapsed as farmers braced for a repeat of the 2017-2020 drought.

By spring, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, and the Central Coast had also been declared in drought , and water restrictions were being considered as a real possibility in early 2024.

While disaster was averted, the flash drought reinforced the fact that the region's climate was changing.

This week's National Climate Risk Assessment warned of more extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, fires and heatwaves.

Writing in the science portal Scimex , Milton Spe

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