India drought forces cattle sell-off

By Mahim Pratap Singh Drought, increased reliance on cash crops and lack of fodder are the primary reasons Jhabua (M.P.): A combination of drought, increased reliance on technology-intensive cash crops and lack of fodder has resulted in Jhabua farmers selling off their cattle, most of which are smuggled to Gujarat, according to sources. The weekly […]

Water shortage threatens two million people in southern Iraq

Electricity supply to Nasiriyah drops by 50% as Euphrates river dries up By Martin Chulov in Nasiriyah, Iraq A water shortage described as the most critical since the earliest days of Iraq’s civilisation is threatening to leave up to 2 million people in the south of the country without electricity and almost as many without […]

History can no longer guide farmers, investors: U.N.

  By Laura MacInnis GENEVA (Reuters) – Climate change has made history an inaccurate guide for farmers as well as energy investors who must rely on probabilities and scenarios to make decisions, the head of a United Nations agency said on Wednesday. Michel Jarraud, director-general of the World Meteorological Organization, said that water and temperature […]

Carcasses of animals ‘everywhere’ in Kenya drought

By TOM ODULA, Associated Press Writer NAIROBI, Kenya – Crops have shriveled, hundreds of cattle are dead and the World Food Program said Tuesday that 3.8 million Kenyans need emergency food aid because of a prolonged drought, which is even causing electrical blackouts in the capital because there’s not enough water for hydroelectric plants. With […]

California drought sparks conflict between farmers and wetlands

As another water war rages, the west side of California’s storied San Joaquin Valley waits for relief that may not come. By Katie Paul | Newsweek Web Exclusive …After three years of drought, California’s legendary water wars are flaring once again, and towns like Mendota, San Joaquin, and Firebaugh are getting a first glimpse of […]

River that supports Australia's bread basket replaced with desert and toxic algae

Farmer Mazzareno Bisogni fights back tears as he stands among the remains of trees he planted 35 years ago, victims of a drought hitting “Australia’s Mississippi”. Bisogni’s orchard lies in the heart of the once-mighty Murray-Darling river system which irrigates Australia’s food bowl, the vast southeastern corner responsible for 40 percent of agricultural output. The […]

Nearly five million short of water in north China drought

The worst drought to hit parts of north China in six decades has left nearly five million people short of water, while officials warn of another dry spell further south, state media reported Sunday. A total of 4.6 million people and 4.1 million head of livestock face difficulty accessing drinking water in the north, the […]

Famine imminent in Kenya drought

By Barney Jopson in Nairobi The number of Kenyans in urgent need of food aid has jumped by more than 50 per cent to nearly 4m, according to official figures, as the country is hit by mass hunger as well as shortages of power and water. The immediate cause of the three-fold crisis is a […]

Nile Delta: 'We are going underwater. The sea will conquer our lands'

The Nile Delta is under threat from rising sea levels. Without the food it produces, Egypt faces catastrophe By Jack Shenker …Today, however, Nile water barely reaches this corner of the Delta. Population growth has sapped its energy upstream, and what “freshwater” does make it downriver is increasingly awash with toxins and other impurities. Farmers […]

Graph of the Day: Historic Texas Drought, August 2009

cf. Graph of the Day: Historic Texas Drought Technorati Tags: drought,agriculture,heat wave

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