Frequent droughts for farmers as climate change hits (New Zealand)

The risk of severe droughts capable of crippling farmers and horticulturists could increase fourfold in eastern New Zealand over the next 75 years.

Some regions which are already drought-prone – such as Marlborough – could see what is today considered a one-in-20-year drought occurring every three to five years by the 2080s, says a National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research report released by Cabinet minister Pete Hodgson, who chairs the Cabinet’s climate change committee.