Severe water restrictions were declared across much of south-eastern Queensland state, with critical shortages in the hinterland towns of Blackwater and Maleny.

Further inland the farming town of Dalby had just hours of supply left, officials said, after a ten-day run of extreme temperatures dried up the local river and almost drained the reservoir.

"We could get to the stage where they turn on the tap and there won't be any water left," Dalby mayor Ron Brown told local media.

Brown this week warned Dalby's catchment had dropped to 15 percent, which equated to two million litres or just eight hours' supply.

"Unless all water users urgently cut back on consumption there is a real risk that Dalby will run out of water," he said, warning use of water outside the home would be banned entirely unless consumption was reduced.

Water was being tapped from underwater bores and desalinated for use, but was being processed slower than residents were using it, Brown added.

While less urgent, officials said the situation in Maleny was serious enough to warrant the trucking in of water, with just two months' supply left and little rainfall in sight.

"Water will be trucked to Maleny to supplement its dwindling supplies after poor November rainfall and above average water consumption caused the town's weirs to drop significantly," the water authority said in a statement.

In nearby Blackwater reservoir levels were so low residents were being asked to restrict their use and boil water to ensure it was clean, local officials said.

Australia is the hottest, driest continent on earth, and parts of it are in the grips of a prolonged and severe drought which has parched the landscape, contributing to savage wildfires.

In February 173 people were killed when an explosive firestorm ripped through Victoria state, in the country's south-east, razing entire towns and more than 2,000 homes.

Australia's centre-left leadership this week warned the nation would be hit earliest and hardest by the effects of climate change, after the parliament rejected key carbon-trading laws ahead of global emissions talks at Copenhagen.

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