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UQ's Professor Hamish McGowan said the findings suggested climate change would lead to increased water scarcity, reduced winter snow cover, more frequent bushfires and wind erosion.

The revelation came after an analysis of geological records from the Eemian Period -- 129,000 to 116,000 years ago -- which offered a proxy of what we could expect in a hotter, drier world.

"We found that, in the past, a similar amount of warming has been associated with mega-drought conditions all over south eastern Australia," Professor McGowan said.

"These drier conditions prevailed for centuries, sometimes for more than 1000 years, with El Niño events most likely increasing their severity."

The team engaged in paleoclimatology -- the study of past climates -- to see what the world will look like as a result of global warming over the next 20 to 50 years.