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The Stream, May 11, 2022: Wildfire Season Starts Early As U.S. Battles Drought
/0 Comments/in The Stream /by Jane JohnstonLake Havasu in 2012. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue
YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN
In Recent Water News
High Cost of Water Hits Home — Rising rates hurt the state’s poorest residents.
What’s Up With Water—May 10, 2022 — This week’s episode of What’s Up With Water covers recent heatwaves in India and Pakistan and the reason some homes in Australia may become “uninsurable.” Plus, Circle of Blue reports on how rising water costs in Michigan are impacting low-income households.
Wildfire Season Begins Early, More Than Half of U.S. in Drought
More than half of the contiguous United States is experiencing drought, NOAA announced at the beginning of the month. The news comes as multiple wildfires continue to burn and merge in New Mexico. More land across the U.S. has received less rainfall than expected than in any other year since 2012, NBC reports.
More Drought News:
This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers
84 PERCENT OF CROPLANDS
Water scarcity could impact 84 percent of the world’s croplands by 2050, according to a new study. Researchers developed a new index in order to estimate water levels for green water, which comes from rain, and blue water, which comes from rivers, lakes and groundwater. The study, published in the AGU journal Earth’s Future, is the first to apply this index worldwide and predict global water scarcity for blue and green water.
20 PERCENT OF AMAZON MICRO BASINS
Another water index, this one developed by Ambiental Media, found that 20 percent of aquatic ecosystems in the Brazilian Amazon have severely impacted by agriculture and dam construction. The index is meant to serve as a reference point of understanding the impacts of human activity on the Amazon River Basin.
On the Radar
A new analysis by the Associated Press found that more than 2,200 dams across the United States are in poor or unsatisfactory condition. Increasingly frequent climate hazards like floods and hurricanes threaten to overwhelm the dams, which on average were build over 50 years ago.
In context: A United Nations’ report from last year found that dams across the world are aging and pose a threat to surrounding communities. The report argued that governments should begin planning for the decommissioning and removal of the structures whose costs now outweigh their benefits.
More Water News
One man in Malawi sold his precious livestock to save his community from frequent floods.
Record heatwaves in India are particularly threatening to the nation’s women, who are often tasked with gathering water for their families.
Water scarcity on southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake is forcing fishing families into poverty.
Jane is a Communications Associate for Circle of Blue. She writes The Stream and has covered domestic and international water issues for Circle of Blue. She is a recent graduate of Grand Valley State University, where she studied Multimedia Journalism and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. During her time at Grand Valley, she was the host of the Community Service Learning Center podcast Be the Change. Currently based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jane enjoys listening to music, reading and spending time outdoors.