The Stream, October 22: Asia Contends With Growing Dengue Fever Problem

The Global Rundown

Urbanization and flooding are two factors driving an increase in dengue fever cases in Asia, while low water levels and contaminated wells have been blamed for an outbreak of cholera in Iraq. Perth, Australia, is sinking due to groundwater withdrawals, and Cameroon’s largest city is increasing its efforts to harvest rainwater. The El Nino this year is still on track to become one of the strongest on record. A group of security experts called on U.S. leaders to take action on climate change.

“America’s elected leaders and private sector must think past tomorrow to focus on this growing problem, and take action at home and abroad. This issue is critically important to the world’s most experienced security planners. The impacts are real, and the costs of inaction are unacceptable.”–A full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal, released by 48 U.S. foreign policy experts that include former secretaries of state and defense, that identifies climate change as a security threat. (Guardian)

By The Numbers

1,800 cases Number in a cholera outbreak in Iraq, which health officials say was caused by low water levels in the Euphrates River and contaminated wells. Reuters

$2,500 Cost for a rainwater harvesting system, of which 30 are being installed in Douala, Cameroon’s largest city. The systems are meant to help the city maintain clean drinking water supplies during floods. Reuters

2.4 degrees Celsius Above normal temperatures measured in the central Pacific in October, indicating one of the strongest El Nino events on record. The weather pattern is already disrupting water supplies in Asia and the Pacific. Bloomberg

Science, Studies, And Reports

Perth, Australia, is sinking at a rate of 2 to 6 millimeters per year, according to a new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The study’s authors linked the subsidence to increased water withdrawals from the city’s aquifers. Guardian

On The Radar

Cases of dengue fever are on the rise across Asia, where some areas are having trouble finding enough hospital beds for patients. The illness is spread by mosquitoes that breed in standing water, and can be exacerbated by flooding and urbanization. Reuters

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek