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What's happening to the Murray River
FACTS
The Murray River is Australia's longest river, and together with its tributary, the Darling River, drains an area known as the Murray Darling Basin. The region has historically received only 6 per cent of Australia's annual rainfall but produced 40 per cent of Australia's food.
For years it was feared that the region would be lost to salt from rising water tables. Now it is feared that the rivers will run dry from a long-term decline in rainfall associated with climate change.
So far there has been no long-term decline in rainfall, but there has been a dramatic decline in the amount of water flowing into the Murray River.