Lake Eyre blooms for first time since 1974 after massive monsoon rains
Heavy monsoon rains fell, nearly 50% above average. They have filled Lake Eyre since 1974 and turned the outback green.
Western Queensland got monsoon rains so heavy they brought floods and killed livestock. The water filled three river systems that flow into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre.
The inland lake is Australia's lowest point, about 15 metres below sea level. Now it mirrors the sky across about 9,500 square kilometres.
Desert plants now cover the outback from William Creek north. These include sandhill wattle, saltbush, grasses and wildflowers.
The salt preserves dormant zooplankton and phytoplankton eggs. These hatch when rain refills the lake.
When they hatch, a food chain starts. This brings thousands of pelicans and other waterbirds to breed.
Scientists say some pelican chick deaths came more from food shortages as salinity rose than from bird flu. The change won't last.
Evaporation will take the water within years.
- 1974, 52 years ago
- Last bloom
- Nearly 50 per cent
- Rainfall above average
- About 9,500 square kilometres
- Lake Eyre area covered
Why it mattersLake Eyre's rare blooms show us Australia's fragile inland systems and the feast-famine cycles that shaped them. Few people see this, but it matters to birds migrating across the continent.
AustraliaThis is a natural spectacle most Australians will never witness in person, but the inland ecosystem it supports affects waterbird populations that move across the whole continent.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
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