Southeastern Australia turns green again

Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory shows the return of a green landscape in southeastern Australia after nearly three years of drought. 

According to NASA, New South Wales had its lowest amount of rainfall in almost a century from January 2017 through October 2019. Lakes dried up and millions of fish died.

This year, southeastern Australia has received above-average rainfall every month through May. 

The image was captured in June 2020 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite.

The eastern states of Australia are the states adjoining the east coast of Australia. These are the mainland states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and the island state of Tasmania; the Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory, while not states, are also included. On some occasions, the state of South Australia is included in this grouping.

Regardless of which definition is used, the eastern states include the majority – around 80% – of the Australian population, the federal capital, Canberra, and the three largest cities: Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. It also includes: the Gold Coast, Queensland; Newcastle, New South Wales; and Wollongong, New South Wales as the three largest non-capital cities in the country. In terms of climate, the area is dominated by a humid subtropical zone, with some tropical (Queensland) and oceanic climate (Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales) zones. In most situations, the eastern states are defined as those who use Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), and that is the definition that this article will adhere to, unless noted.

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory