The Stream, November 3: Drought and High Temperatures Expected in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile

The Global Rundown

Summer in South America is expected to worsen the drought in Brazil, and bring intense heat to Chile and Argentina. Monsoon rains lash southeastern India, filling reservoirs but also affecting crops and causing the death of two girls. Britain’s shale gas industry prepares to retry fracking, years after earth tremors halted the country’s first attempt. Scientists discover a microbe that degrades dioxane, a groundwater contaminant and suspected carcinogen. A new report predicts that climate change will drive tens of millions of people from their homes in the next decade.

“If Europe thinks they have a problem with migration today…wait 20 years.  See what happens when climate change drives people out of Africa…and we’re talking now not just one or two million, but 10 or 20 [million].” –Stephen Cheney, a retired US military corps brigadier general, in reference to the millions of people that are likely to be displaced by climate change in the next 10 years. A recent report, released by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EFJ) with input from US military and security experts, speculates that climate change will spark the largest refugee crisis the world has ever seen. The Guardian

By The Numbers

6 Number of years since Britain’s first fracking operation was stopped by earth tremors. The country’s vote to leave the European Union has raised concerns about energy supplies, spurring the shale gas industry to attempt fracking again. The amount of underground shale gas in Britain is currently unknown. Reuters

1,925 million cubic feet Total water storage of four main reservoirs feeding Chennai, India, compared with the 1,270 million cubic feet of storage present at this time last year. Much of the water has come in recent weeks as monsoon rains blanket India’s southeastern states. Flooding has occurred in low-lying areas, impacting standing crops and causing the deaths of two eight-year-old Tamil Nadu girls, who were electrocuted by a live wire submerged in stagnant floodwaters. The Economic Times

Science, Studies, And Reports

Researchers at Rice University have discovered a microbe that helps degrade dioxane, a groundwater contaminant and suspected carcinogen found at thousands of polluted locations. The researchers state that the finding could eliminate the need for costly clean-up at some contaminated groundwater sites. Science Daily

On The Radar

A preview of South America’s summer revealed that drought will remain a concern in parched northeastern Brazil, potentially affecting coffee and other crops in the region. In Chile and southern Argentina, rains are predicted to be minimal as temperatures soar. Adequate rainfall is likely to limit drought conditions across the rest of the continent.  AccuWeather