The study found northern Australia had little or no rain for up to six months of the year, evaporation losses were extremely high and very few of the Top End's rivers flowed all year round.

It described the region as ''water-limited'', with insufficient rainfall ''to meet evaporative demand.''

Most rain fell near the coast, not in the headwaters regions of rivers, and massive, costly dams would need to be built ''two to 10 times the volume'' of existing dams in Australia to provide adequate water storage. Climate change was also estimated to increase the region's high evaporation rates by up to 5 per cent.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times