Searing heat, severe drought and official mismanagement have allowed rivers in south-eastern Australia to run dry. The Guardian reporters Anne Davies and Lorena Allam discuss the devastating impact this has had on wildlife and residents. Plus: Zoe Williams on children’s screen time

Temperatures have hit 47C (117F) in southern Australia where an extraordinary heatwave has come amid one of the worst droughts in the country’s recorded history. In large parts of the Murray-Darling basin – an area of land the size of Egypt – little rain is expected for months. Fish are dying in their hundreds of thousands at Menindee and people living in towns and on properties along the Barwon-Darling river system are battling to secure water fit for drinking and washing and to feed their stock.

Anushka Asthana talks to the Guardian Australia investigative reporter Anne Davies who discusses the environmental impact, while Lorena Allam, Guardian Australia’s Indigenous affairs editor, talks about how it is affecting the 46 Indigenous communities who live in the region.

Also: the Guardian columnist Zoe Williams discusses whether we should worry about the amount of time children spend in front of screens.