WELLINGTON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The drought that struck New Zealand over the southern summer was the country's worst and most widespread in almost 70 years, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) announced Thursday.
MPI commissioned the government's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) to compare the drought to previous drought records, and the study found it was the most extreme since the summer of 1945-1946 and the most widespread since the drought of 1972-1973.
The report stated the cause of the drought was slow-moving or " blocking" high pressure systems over the Tasman Sea and New Zealand a trend that was increasing according to century-long records, NIWA principal scientist Brett Mullan said in a statement.
Almost the whole of the North Island and parts of the north and west of the South Island were officially declared to be drought- stricken during the summer.
MPI resource policy manager, North Island regions, Stuart Anderson said that although the drought conditions had dissipated with the onset of winter and many farms have started to recover, the economic and social impact of the drought continued to be felt around the country.
"The recent snow makes it harder for farmers to see themselves through the winter and manage feed supply and pastures. The adverse event declaration of the drought will remain in place until Sept. 30, which will allow rural communities to get through winter and into early spring," Anderson said in the statement.
The Treasury has estimated that the drought could suppress New Zealand's annual GDP growth by up to 1 percentage point.
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