From ground level, Australia's drought looks like a featureless, brown dustbowl, but from the air it transforms into an artistry of colour and texture as the land cracks under a blazing sun. Circular dry plough tracks resemble the concentric circles in Aboriginal dot paintings that tell of an ancient mythology, starving cattle queuing for feed look like an abstract painting and their black shadows stretching across the land a surrealist image. The worst drought in living memory is sweeping parts of eastern Australia, leaving farmers struggling to cope and many asking questions about the future. A quarter of Australia's agricultural production by value is grown in New South Wales (NSW) and the state government has offered more than A$1 billion in emergency funding to farmers. It announced the latest tranche - A$500 million - on July 30. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says parts of Australia experienced the second-warmest summer (December-February) on record and have just been through one of the driest and warmest autumns (March-May) on record. And the dry spell, which has left more than 95 percent of NSW in drought, according to Department of Primary Industries, has no end in sight. REUTERS/David Gray SEARCH "AUSTRALIA DROUGHT" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A view of a country house or "dacha" in the Ozero housing cooperative by lake Komsomolsk some 130 km outside St. Petersburg, in this picture taken January 11, 2014. Four years before he become Russia's president, Vladimir Putin built himself a lakeside cottage in woodland outside St Petersburg. He has come a long way since then. So too have some of the friends who were his neighbours in the gated community by Lake Komsomolsk, named after the Communist Party's youth wing. Three of the eight founding members of the Ozero (Lake) housing cooperative that was set up to manage the dachas were targeted in the latest round of U.S. sanctions on Thursday over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. The U.S. Treasury Department specifically mentioned the Ozero link to Putin in a statement explaining the sanctions, which imposed visa bans and asset freezes on some of his inner circle. The message is not only that Putin should change tack over Crimea. It is also that the political system he has built - concentrating power in the hands of a powerful president - is at best faulty, at worst corrupt. To match story UKRAINE-CRISIS/PUTIN-WEALTH Picture taken January 11, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk (RUSSIA - Tags: BUSINESS) 

A view of a country house or "dacha" in the Ozero housing cooperative by lake Komsomolsk some 130 km outside St. Petersburg, in this picture taken January 11, 2014. Four years before he become Russia's president, Vladimir Putin built himself a lakeside cottage in woodland outside St Petersburg. He has come a long way since then. So too have some of the friends who were his neighbours in the gated community by Lake Komsomolsk, named after the Communist Party's youth wing. Three of the eight founding members of the Ozero (Lake) housing cooperative that was set up to manage the dachas were targeted in the latest round of U.S. sanctions on Thursday over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. The U.S. Treasury Department specifically mentioned the Ozero link to Putin in a statement explaining the sanctions, which imposed visa bans and asset freezes on some of his inner circle. The message is not only that Putin should change tack over Crimea. It is also that the political system he has built - concentrating power in the hands of a powerful president - is at best faulty, at worst corrupt. To match story UKRAINE-CRISIS/PUTIN-WEALTH Picture taken January 11, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk (RUSSIA - Tags: BUSINESS) 

A view of the former country house or "dacha" of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Ozero housing cooperative by lake Komsomolsk, some 130 km outside St. Petersburg, in this picture taken January 11, 2014. Four years before he become Russia's president, Vladimir Putin built himself a lakeside cottage in woodland outside St Petersburg. He has come a long way since then. So too have some of the friends who were his neighbours in the gated community by Lake Komsomolsk, named after the Communist Party's youth wing. Three of the eight founding members of the Ozero (Lake) housing cooperative that was set up to manage the dachas were targeted in the latest round of U.S. sanctions on Thursday over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. The U.S. Treasury Department specifically mentioned the Ozero link to Putin in a statement explaining the sanctions, which imposed visa bans and asset freezes on some of his inner circle. The message is not only that Putin should change tack over Crimea. It is also that the political system he has built - concentrating power in the hands of a powerful president - is at best faulty, at worst corrupt. To match story UKRAINE-CRISIS/PUTIN-WEALTH Picture taken January 11, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Demianchuk (RUSSIA - Tags: BUSINESS) 

A man is framed through a musical instrument as he works on a traditional drum for sale at a workshop in Lahore July 10, 2012. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza (PAKISTAN - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) 

A model presents a creation at the New Zealand 'The World of Wearable Art' show in New Delhi April 17, 2009. The wearable arts event is a choreographed show where each costume is individually choreographed to best express its mood as during the show, outfits were created by a team of nine Indian designers and were on display at a show organised by Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). REUTERS/Vijay Mathur (INDIA FASHION) 

Australia's Stuart Clark holds a bat to his head and turns in circles to make himself dizzy as part of the cricket training exercise at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados June 19, 2008. The exercise helps concentrate on the catching and bowling skills. Australia will meet West Indies in a Twenty20 international cricket match on Friday REUTERS/Andy Clark (BARBADOS) 

Members of the Jobbik Hungarian Guard take part in a ceremony in Budapest February 10, 2008. The Hungarian Guard, Hungarian far-right party Jobbik's paramilitary arm, marched to commemorate the 51st death anniversary of World War II head of state Miklos Horty. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh (HUNGARY) 

A glassmith lays a string of molten glass in concentric circles around a glass body mounted on a blow pipe in the Neman glass works in village of Berezovka, some 150 km (93.2 miles) west of Minsk, January 24, 2008. The Neman glassworks have been producing hand made glass products such as glasses, vases and souvenirs for 125 years. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko (BELARUS) 

A man stops his mining cart at the exit to the Pandora Mine in La Sal, Utah, June 1, 2007. Record uranium prices are driving a revival in mining for the radioactive metal's ore in the Colorado Plateau area of the U.S. southwest. To match feature USA-URANIUM/RUSH REUTERS/Tim Gaynor (UNITED STATES) 

An assistant of Jacob Dahlgren of Sweden, prepares an installation of dart and dartboards at the Giardini pavilion during the 52nd International Art Exhibition in Venice June 7, 2007. The 52nd International Art Exhibition, entitled "Think with the Senses ? Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense", will run from 10th June to 21st November, 2007. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (ITALY) 

Protesters, wearing only their underwear or thongs with the image of Senator Dante Delgado, walk in concentric circles at a major intersection during a demonstration in Mexico City May 15, 2007. The protesters are members of a group called the "400 villages", which is demanding land they claim was unjustly taken from them by former governor of the state of Veracruz, and now senator, Delgado. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (MEXICO) 

A boy dressed as a tortoise crawls on the floor during a fancy dress competition in Kolkata May 12, 2007. REUTERS/Parth Sanyal (INDIA) 

A fan swings fluorescent sticks during the Tiesto performance at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California April 28, 2007. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES) 

Pupils play during a nationwide activity aimed at building up the health of youths in Hefei, east China's Anhui province April 29, 2007. The education ministry had urged schools nationwide to pay more attention to sports and lighten children's burden by reducing homework and increasing exercise. REUTERS/Jianan Yu (CHINA) 

Venus Williams of the U.S. returns a shot to Yung-Jan Chan of Taiwan during their match at the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, April 12, 2007. REUTERS/John Sommers II (UNITED STATES) 

Part of a sculpture made up of nearly 8,000 recycled drinks cans is seen outside Chester Town Hall in Chester, northern England, March 26, 2007. The piece of art marked the start of the city's annual food and drink festival. REUTERS/Phil Noble (BRITAIN) 

A man walks past part of a sculpture made up of nearly 8,000 recycled drinks cans outside Chester Town Hall in Chester, northern England, March 26, 2007. The piece of art marked the start of the city's annual food and drink festival. REUTERS/Phil Noble (BRITAIN) 

A general view of an amusement park during celebrations for the new year festival of Norouz in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad, March 21, 2007. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ) 

A model passes a huge light as she shows a creation by British designers Preen during their Autumn/Winter 2007 show at London Fashion Week in London February 14, 2007. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs (BRITAIN) 

A labourer works on ground tiles outside a stadium in Shanghai January 16, 2007. REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA) 

Russian Yulia Pikhtina twirls hula hoops in the Spiegeltent during a media call for La Clique in Sydney January 4, 2007, one of the attractions during the three-week-long Sydney Festival. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA) 

Thousands of Muslims circle the Kaaba at prayer during the haj in Mecca December 24, 2006. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (SAUDI ARABIA) 

Illusionist David Blaine is suspended and shackled in a three-ringed gyroscope above Times Square in New York November 21, 2006. Blaine will attempt to escape from the stunt on November 24 in a promotion for retail chain Target. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES) 

A woman walks up a spiral staircase in the new Cottbus Technology University library in the eastern German town of Cottbus November 17, 2006. The library, designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron was named 'German library of 2006'. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY)
Also refer to: GF2DUYVGHEAA 

Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand eyes a rebound during a NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks in Los Angeles November 8, 2006. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES) 

A student prepares a pizza in a pizza school during a course in Cap d'Ail, southeastern France, October 5, 2006. World Food Day will be celebrated October 16, the day on which The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded in 1945. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard (FRANCE) 

The Soyuz capsule, carrying space tourist Anousheh Ansari, Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams, opens its parachute as it lands in northern Kazakhstan September 29, 2006. The Russian Soyuz capsule with Iranian-born space tourist Ansari on board bumped down safely in the Kazakh steppe at dawn on Friday. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KAZAKHSTAN) 

Stones have been arranged in circles on the exposed lake bottom along the shoreline of Lake Constance, Europe's third largest freshwater lake, near Kesswil, Switzerland, February 14, 2006. The lake's water level has dropped to a record low due to continuing dryness. REUTERS/Daniel Ammann 

A Chinese man works at a construction site in the Central Business District of China's capital Beijing January 25, 2006. The juggernaut that is China's economy expanded 9.9 percent in 2005, beating market expectations and setting the stage for what officials say is likely to be another year of powerful growth. REUTERS/Jason Lee BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE 

Actress Reese Witherspoon talks to reporters as she arrives for the 71st New York Film Critic Circle awards dinner in New York January 8, 2006. Witherspoon was the best actress winner for her role in the film "Walk The Line". REUTERS /Keith Bedford PICTURES OF THE MONTH JANUARY 2006 

Mold grows in concentric circles on the ceiling of Yrma Cabrera's apartment in the damaged Redwood Park Apartment complex in Kenner, Louisiana October 8, 2005. The residents of the complex have been without electricity or running water since Hurricane Katrina hit over one month ago. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson 

A view of Rahgardan mountain and night sky near Daryasar field in Mazandaran Province 300 km (186 miles) north of Tehran September 21, 2005. Picture taken September 21. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl 

Britain's Queen Elizabeth (top) watches a fashion show during her visit in Duesseldorf November 4, 2004. REUTERS/Thorsten Sitz/Pool Pictures of the month November 2004 MAD 

A view of chocolates in a delicatessen in Genoa, January 10, 2004. Together with the northern French city of Lille, Genoa has been designated a European city of Culture for 2004. BLIFE REUTERS/Max Rossi PP04010034 MR/SN 

Actors of China's Guangdong Circus perform during a show in St.Petersburg's
Music Hall, August 22, 2003. Acrobats, jugglers and gymnasts present their
programs during the China Week in St.Petersburg dedicated to 300 years of
St.Petersburg. Pictures of the month August 2003 REUTERS/Alexander
Demianchuk PP03080076

AD/CVI 

A pilot performs a hand stand inside the envelope of a hot air balloon as he waits for it to inflate at the Bristol International Balloon Festival, August 8, 2003. The four day Bristol festival includes a planned mass launch of over 120 hot air balloons. Pictures of the month August 2003 BLIFE REUTERS/Peter Macdiarmid PKM/JOH 

Traditional Spanish 'Churros' are lifted from a large vat of frying oil in
the Eijalde family run 'Churreria La Manueta' in central Pamplona, July 14,
2003. Churros are a typical Spanish breakfast, consisting of a mixture of
water and flour, deep fried in oil and sold fresh every morning during the
San Fermin Festival in Pamplona. After the running of the bulls each morning
runners and residents of Pamplona queue up through the streets of the old
part of town for this favourite breakfast. Pictures of the month July 2003
REUTERS/Jerry Lampen PP03070051

JFL/MA 

Bishops sit in concentric circles around the pope in St. Peter's
Basilica during a special synod for Africa in 1994. REUTERS BOOKS Pope
John Paul II Reaching Out Across Borders REUTERS/Luciano Mellace

JM 

An Iraqi man sits in bakery among loaves of bread as he waits for
customers in Baghdad, October 8, 2002. U.S. President George W. Bush
said the threat of an Iraqi attack on the United States was growing,
but insisted U.S. military action against Iraq was not imminent and
pledged to work with allies against Baghdad if it did not disarm.
REUTERS/Faleh Kheiber

REUTERS 

EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO COMMERCIAL OR BOOK SALES. A student uses his mobile phone during a break as he is silhouetted against the "Ardon Windows? in the library of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem June 3, 2002. The Ardon windows are Isaiah's vision of eternal peace in a triptych by artist Mordecal Ardon. The part of the triptych in the photo focuses on Jerusalem, in the lower section the city wall is represented as the Dead Sea Scroll of the book of Isaiah. Above the wall a piece of parchment carries part of the Prophecy, "and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares". Next to the parchment one can see a network of blue circles and lines- the Kabbalistic Tree of Sefirot. To the left of the Tree is a composition of Sefirot made up of concentric circles, derived from the book of Zohar. 

EDITORIAL USE ONLY - NO COMMERCIAL OR BOOK SALES. A student uses his mobile phone during a break as he is silhouetted
against the "Ardon Windows" in the library of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem June 3, 2002. The Ardon windows are Isaiah's vision of
eternal peace in a triptych by artist Mordecal Ardon. The part of the
triptych in the photo focuses on Jerusalem, in the lower section the
city wall is represented as the Dead Sea Scroll of the book of Isaiah.
Above the wall a piece of parchment carries part of the Prophecy, "and
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares". Next to the parchment
one can see a network of blue circles and lines-the Kabbalistic Tree of
Sefirot. To the left of the Tree is a composition of Sefirot made up of
concentric circles, derived from the book of Zohar. REUTERS/Yannis
Behrakis REUTERS

YB/WS 

A model for French fashion house Chanel designed by German Karl Lagerfeld presents this black strapless cocktail dress with veiled hat decorated with silver concentric circles as part of his Autumn/Winter 1995 High fashion collection July 11