Parched waterways, dead fish and trees ready to give up: historic big dry grips South Australia

Breakout Creek at the western end of Adelaide’s River Torrens in March. Many pools and waterways are dry, leaving fish stranded. Photograph: Green Adelaide

Usually hardy trees and shrubs are dying, waterways have turned to dust and ecologists fear local freshwater fish extinctions could be coming as historic dry conditions grip parts of South Australia.

Large swathes of the state – including the Adelaide Plains, the Fleurieu, Yorke and Eyre peninsulas and upper south-east – have seen the lowest rainfall on record in the 14 months since February 2024, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.