claim: Past Australian droughts occurred when global temperatures were lower than now and wetter years occurred when such temperatures were rising.
evidence: Although Australia has naturally experienced high rainfall variability and hot summers for millennia, the country has experienced an increase of nearly 1.0 °C ( 1.8 °F ) in average annual temperatures since 1900, decreases in average rainfall in southeastern Australia since 1990, with the country's worst recorded droughts occurring within the 21st century.