The current and on-going drought ranks along side the Federation and World War II droughts as one of Australia's worst, but new figures show it has also been the hottest of all the big dries.
And, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, there are few signs that the drought currently gripping south-eastern Australia is letting up.
"It's been eight years since we last recorded widespread, above-average rainfall across inland eastern Australia, including most of the Murray-Darling Basin," the Bureau's head of climate analysis, Dr David Jones said.
"That was in the year 2000. And since the drought began, Victoria alone has missed out on nearly two years worth of normal rainfall.
"While similar periods of drought occurred in the middle of last century, this has also been the hottest drought on record, adding to the impact."
Dr Jones said the lack of rain over a number of years continues to be at, or near, record levels over many parts of southern Australia.
In south-eastern Australia, and particularly in Victoria and Tasmania, the past three year's rainfalls in many places are now at the lowest level ever recorded.
This includes many areas critical for inflows into the southern part of the Murray-Darling system.
However, at the same time northern Australia has been receiving above average rainfall, with record high rainfall widespread about the Kimberly, Top End, and parts of the Cape York Peninsula.
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