From the Himalayan foothills in Himachal Pradesh, the bountiful farmlands of Punjab and Haryana, among the most productive on the planet, stretch the setting sun. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue

Global Rundown

  • Across hundreds of incidents of explosive weapons impacting water infrastructure from 2018 through 2024, a majority occurred in Palestine, Russia, and Ukraine.
  • Record-breaking autumn rains in Death Valley National Park has prompted the re-emergence of an ephemeral waterbody known as Lake Manly.
  • Storms and flash flooding killed dozens of people this weekend in Morocco and Bolivia, where recent drought and deforestation exacerbated the uncontrolled flow of water. 
  • The collapse of riverbanks in the Brazilian Amazon, a consequence of drought and boat traffic, is coinciding with the country’s expansion of shipping networks.

The Lead

Riverbank erosion in the Brazilian Amazon has become a worsening problem over the past decade, as more intense dry seasons have triggered devastating — and sometimes deadly — collapses of ports and embankments, Mongabay reports. 

Poorly scouted locations, extreme drought, and increased boat traffic are all to blame for these incidents, which delay shipping and endanger riparian communities. 

In an effort to reinforce the country’s at-risk ports, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) has allocated roughly $140 million, with $72 million spent to date. 

“It’s very worrying to think about large waterways on Amazonian rivers,” Ayan Fleischmann, a geoscience researcher at Brazil’s Mamirauá Institute, told Mongabay. “The Amazon’s history with large infrastructure projects is not good for local populations. It will be necessary to ensure river management and clear rules to deal with the increase in boat traffic.”

Concerns are heightened as Brazil has moved in recent months to expand shipping networks across additional river systems. In August, Lula signed a decree to add the Tapajós River to the Arco Norte project, which seeks to make agricultural shipping and transportation across the Amazon more efficient. Two other rivers, the Madeira and Tocantins, have also been proposed for the project.

Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue

This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers

308

The number of incidents involving the use of explosive weapons that impacted water infrastructure around the world between 2018 and 2024, according to a new report from the humanitarian organization Insecurity Insight. Though instances of violence were recorded in 21 countries or territories, 78 percent of all attacks occurred in Lebanon, Palestine, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen. Pipelines and water pipes were the most commonly targeted type of infrastructure, particularly in Russian and Ukraine. In 48 of the recorded attacks, concurrent damage to both water and energy utilities was documented. 

“Two out of three incidents were attributed to state actors, with these cases more than tripling between 2023 and 2024,” according to the report. 

2.41
The record-breaking number of inches of rain that fell on Death Valley National Park this September through November, marking the park’s wettest fall since 1923. Following these stormy months, in which more rain fell than is typical for an entire year, a shallow lake has formed in Badwater Basin, which sits at 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America. Colloquially called Lake Manly, it is the waterbody’s first re-emergence since last year, when the remnants of Hurricane Hilary brought abnormally heavy rains into the valley.

On the Radar

Deadly flash floods gripped the globe this weekend, battering North Africa and South America.

In Morocco’s coastal Safi Province, at least 37 people were killed and 30 more were injured when muddy waters inundated dozens of homes. The season’s heavy rains, which are expected to continue through the week, mark a sudden change from seven consecutive years of drought in the region’s Atlas Mountains, Deutsche Welle reports. 

At least 20 people were killed in floods in central Bolivia, where heavy rains swelled the River Pirai and swept away a bridge. Two dozen people are still missing as of Monday evening, Reuters reports, and at least 300 people were rescued via helicopter. In an address, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, who took office in early November, blamed previous administrations’ poor environmental protections, deforestation, and wildfire for exacerbating the effects of flooding. “This is not over, it’s just beginning,” Paz told reporters.

Wetland Watch

Punjab Groundwater: According to an Indian national assessment released last week, groundwater is being withdrawn from the country’s northwestern province at 156 percent of the region’s sustainable limit — significantly more than anywhere else in the country and well above the national average of 60 percent. Growing concerns over a looming water scarcity crisis in the agricultural hub — often called India’s “breadbasket” — have prompted officials this week to order a new study examining the region’s water recharge, irrigation, and seepage patterns, the Hindustan Times reports. 

Christian Thorsberg is an environmental writer from Chicago. He is passionate about climate and cultural phenomena that often appear slow or invisible, and he examines these themes in his journalism, poetry, and fiction.