Consequences: Projected decline in crop, horticulture and dairy production, for example, decline in median wheat yields by 2050 of up to 30% in southwest Australia and up to 15% in southern Australia. Increased heat stress in livestock by 31-42 days per year by 2050. Reduced winter chilling for horticulture. Increased smoke impacts for viticulture. Flow-on effects for agricultural supply chains, farming families and rural communities across southwestern, southern and southeastern Australia, including the MDB. Hazards: Hotter and drier conditions with constraints on water resources and more frequent and severe droughts in southwestern, southern and eastern Australia. Exposure: Across southwestern, southern and eastern Australia, many production regions are exposed, including the MDB, which supports agriculture worth AUD$24 billion/year, 2.6 million people in diverse rural communities and important environmental assets containing 16 Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands. Vulnerability: Existing financial, social, health and environmental pressures on rural, regional and remote communities. Existing competition for water resources among communities, industries and environment and uncertainty about sharing of water under a drying climate. Adaptation options: Improved governance and collaboration to build rural resilience, including regional and basin-scale initiatives. Improved water policies and initiatives  and changes in management and technologies. Resilience-focused planning for rural settlements, land use, industry, infrastructure and value chains. Adoption of information, tools and methods to better manage uncertainty, variability and change. Incremental changes in farm management practices . In some regions, major changes may be necessary, for example, diversification in agricultural enterprises, transition to different land uses  or migration to another area. Flows in waterways based on Indigenous knowledge to protect cultural assets.
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report