Drought

Drought in Malaysia

February was Singapore's driest month since 1869. During the month, there were only seven days of short showers, with some areas receiving as little as 0.2mm of rain. Drought has hit the wider region in recent weeks, threatening to raise food prices and slow economic activity.

Officials in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, started rationing water in February and forest fires have broken out in Indonesia's Riau province. While Singapore relies on Malaysia for about 60% of its water imports, experts say that the country's recent efforts in desalination and recycled water technology have made it much less reliant on neighbouring countries. Those new technologies can provide around 55% of the country's demand for water regardless of rainfall.

Cattle prices tumble amid eastern Australia's drought

The New England region north of Sydney is traditionally some of the nation's best farming country, producing some of its finest beef cattle and wool. But much of the land is barren and has been without significant rainfall for over a year. Crops have failed and livestock has been sold off, while many dams are bone dry.

To survive, many farmers are having to sell their prized cattle, and in the New South Wales city of Armidale, the sale yard has been awash with livestock. An oversupply of animals means that prices here have tumbled. But what's good for buyers, who are often from the southern states of Victoria and South Australia where conditions have been far better, has put another dent into the livelihoods of hard-pressed farmers.