During World War II, eastern Australia suffered dry conditions which lasted from 1937 through to 1947 with little respite.

Sydney Opera House. The Japanese invasion is stopped at the Battle of the Coral Sea. The end of the drought coincided with the 1946–47 Ashes series. In this paper we compare the wind erosion of two of the greatest droughts in Australian recorded history; the World War II (WWII) Drought (1937–1945) and the Millennium Drought (2001–2009).

Australian forces defeat the Japanese at the Battle of Milne Bay.

In particular during virtually all of Australia's iconic droughts, including the Federation Drought (1895–1902), the World War II drought (1937–1945), and the present “Big Dry” (post‐1995), the IOD has remained persistently ‘positive' or ‘neutral'.

1942 - The Japanese begin air raids of Australia. 1945 - World War II comes to an end. From 1965–68, eastern Australia was again affected by drought.

The remaining major droughts occurred in 1864–66 (and 1868), 1880–86, 1888, 1911–16, 1918–20 and 1939–45.

To do this we analysed previously unavailable meteorological observer records from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM). The latter drought resulted in a possible $5b cost to Australia’s economy, and $590m in drought relief by the Commonwealth Government. It is the fourth major drought recorded in Australia in modern times. The rainfall timeseries picks up a modest increase in precipitation during that year, although drought conditions were not broken. The short-lived but Australia is a founding member of the United Nations. Similarly, the World War II drought (1937–1945) occurred during a period of sustained dry conditions persisting from 1935 to 1949 (Figure 1b), with only one negative IOD event in 1942 (Figure 1a). Australia joins on the side of the Allies. 1939 - World War II begins.