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A quickly advancing monsoon covered India by June 16, the earliest date on record and one month before usual, AlertNet reported. The early rains will help improve the growth and yields of summer crops like rice and soybeans, analysts said. Scarce Water Supplies Tight water supplies are getting even tighter in Jordan, as half a [...]
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Severe flooding will likely increase in many of the world’s major river basins due to climate change, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, AlertNet reported. The study reviewed 29 rivers and found that the Mekong, Nile, and Amazon rivers, among others, will become more prone to severe floods, while [...]
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At a conference in Bonn, Germany, water scientists warned that the majority of the world’s population will be dealing with water shortages within two generations, the Guardian reported. The shortages will affect both developed and developing countries, driven by climate change, over-use and pollution. Natural Disasters The United States could see as many as 11 [...]
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A leak was discovered at yet another underground water storage tank used to contain radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, The New York Times reported. The country is struggling to find places to store the contaminated water, but has promised not to release it into the Pacific Ocean. A Chilean court [...]
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While Brazil’s major crop growing areas are producing a record soybean harvest, the country’s northeast region is still suffering a severe drought, Aljazeera reported. This photo slideshow focuses on the heavy toll being paid by cattle ranchers. Pollution Clean-Up China is setting aside $US 16 billion over the next three years to reduce pollution in [...]
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There are now more than 1 million Syrians either registered as refugees or being assisted as refugees, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. The scale of the refugee crisis is putting increasing pressure on the housing, food and water resources of host countries and camps, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees described Syria [...]
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When a Greenpeace China rapid response team ventured to a chemical spill site in the Shanxi province, they found that the area’s water supply was dwindling rapidly to support the growing coal production there, reports The New York Times. Much like the water-energy nexus story that Circle of Blue uncovered in other Northern Chinese provinces, [...]
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Storms spawned by Tropical Cyclone Oswald created “record turbidity levels” in Australia’s Brisbane River and forced the main water treatment plant for the city of Brisbane to close earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported. The plant is back online, but officials say water supplies for the metropolitan area remain tight. The legal case between Chevron [...]
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Africa Water service, as well as electricity and phone service, has been cut in Timbuktu, the latest casualty of the ongoing conflict in Mali, CNN reported. The Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA), a group active in northern Mali that opposes the government, blamed the outages on “terrorist” sabotage. Following a devastating drought in 2009, pastoral [...]
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Rivers Vietnam and Cambodia urged Laos to halt its controversial Xayaburi dam project on the Mekong River at a recent meeting of the Mekong River Commission, the Guardian reported, citing NGO International Rivers. In 2012, Laos held a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the dam, which some fear could threaten food security and wildlife. A photo [...]
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U.S. Drought The Food Price Index for December 2012, released yesterday, hit its lowest point since prices began to rally in June 2012, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The Index is a measure of international food commodity prices, and, driven in part by the severe drought in the [...]
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Pollution A pig farm in the Chinese town of Houtonglong has polluted water sources, created health problems, and made it difficult for local farmers to raise other animals, the Guardian reported. As China’s appetite for meat continues to grow, ban production at 93 iron ore mines in Goa, which were found to be contributing to [...]
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Researchers hope the map is used to plan restoration projects that provide the greatest human benefits.
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Upgrades to the world’s agricultural export infrastructure, such as roads, waterways and ports, needs to become a priority in order to feed a growing planet, according to the CEO of global agribusiness company Bunge, Reuters reported. Low water levels and a back-up of barge traffic on the Mississippi River have put renewed focus on grain [...]
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A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Japan near the site of the Fukushima disaster, creating a 1-meter (3.2 feet) tsunami, Reuters reported. Neither the quake nor the tsunami caused much damage. In this Guardian blog, George Monbiot questions the United Kingdom’s trial policy of biodiversity offsetting, which allows developers to destroy habitat for [...]
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Seasonal migrations of poor, rural communities due to shifting rainfall patterns, droughts and floods are increasing, according to a new study by CARE International and the United Nations University, AlertNet reported. The study warns that the migrations could become more frequent and permanent unless action is taken to mitigate climate change or adjust agriculture to [...]
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An outbreak of Hepatitis E in South Sudan refugee camps has killed 26 people and infected more than 1,000, according to the United Nations News Centre. The virus is spread through contaminated food and water, and the problem could worsen with the rainy season and an influx of more refugees. China’s agriculture minister warned today [...]
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The world must improve land and water management in order to combat hunger, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute, Bloomberg News reported. The Institute released its annual Global Hunger Index yesterday, which was topped by Burundi, Eritrea and Haiti. A record loss of sea ice in the Arctic is being mirrored by an [...]
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Food Security Approximately 12.5 percent of the global population–or one in every eight people–went hungry between 2010 and 2012, according to a report on food insecurity released by the United Nations, AlertNet reported. This is a 6.1 percent drop from the period 1990-1992, but progress toward eradicating hunger has been slowing in recent years due [...]
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French utility Suez Environnement will charge residents in Dunkirk, France different rates for water based on their income and level of usage, Bloomberg News reported. The French government is also pursuing legislation to make essential utilities like water, natural gas and power more affordable for low-income families. Downpours and floods have forced evacuations and impeded [...]
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