Uniting classic journalism and data literacy, Circle of Blue informs global audiences about the growing competition between water, food, and energy in a changing climate.

Present in the natural environment, the Legionella bacteria flourish in building plumbing systems. Reported cases of the pneumonia-like disease, spread by inhaling droplets contaminated with the bacteria, are rapidly rising, up five-fold since 2000.

In the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report, which envisions how global risks will evolve and interact over the next decade, the feedback loop between climate and water is made real and profound. At Circle of Blue, we’ve been covering the intersections with front-line reportage stretching from Bangalore to Beijing and the Great Lakes to the Aral Sea.

The city’s main reservoirs are dry, depleted by the failure of successive monsoons to provide replenishing rains. The shortfall has crippled the piped distribution network, which is now meeting just half of typical demand through a mix of secondary sources: desalinated water, groundwater, and the impoundments from nearby stone quarries.

Flooded by hurricanes twice in three years, the small town of Fair Bluff, North Carolina, is a poster child for the devastation of powerful, slow-moving storms.
The town’s struggle to recover from those storms reflects demographic, economic, and technological changes that are eroding small communities across rural America.