Parts of Australia are currently experiencing significant dry conditions, but it’s regionally variable. Much of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are recording “severe deficiency” in rainfall, confirming that it’s been one of the driest winter periods on record for some locations.

In Victoria, parts of the Wimmera, Mallee, and western Victoria have had historically low rainfall over a 15‑month stretch. In South Australia, many farmers and communities are reporting critical water shortages and difficulties, particularly in rural & tank/dam‑reliant areas. In a statement by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), they note that parts of southern and eastern Australia have rainfall well below average.

Some northern and eastern regions have had better than average rainfall patterns or recent precipitation events. The dryness is not uniform across the whole country. Rainfall in August 2025 was “above average to very much above average” in parts of eastern and northern New South Wales and Western Australia, even while other states had below-average rainfall.

Whilst many Australian farmers thought they were in for a wet spring and summer to help deal with the dryer-than-normal winter, a rapid shift in temperature above Antarctica could change the outlook. Despite this, the Bureau of Meteorology has not predicted any major changes to its wet long-range forecast and is still predicting above-average rainfall across most of the eastern half of the country and the possibility of a weak La Niña forming.