No relief in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp

August 30 (Al Jazeera) – As Muslims around the world mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid Al-Fitr, many Somali Muslims will not be able to participate due to the ongoing famine in the Horn of Africa. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis, threatened by drought and civil war, have wound […]

Kenya: Hunt for water turns desperate

August 30 (ReliefWeb) – Drought-hit Kenyans are resorting to desperate measures to find water which are putting their lives at risk, according to a Tearfund partner. The Turkana region is one of the worst affected by the lack of rain in Kenya, leaving many thousands of people who rely on livestock for their livelihoods battling […]

Climate change concern tumbles in U.S. and China

By Damian Carrington 30 August 2011 If, like me, you think urgent global action is needed to avert the worst impacts of global warming, then you will also agree that global opinion is crucial: political will is created directly out of public pressure. So a new global survey suggests the glass is two-thirds full. Sixty […]

Amid government denials, Eritreans flee harsh drought

Shire, Ethiopia, August 30 (AFP) — In Ethiopia’s Endabaguna refugee camp, rows of gaunt Eritreans clad in rubber sandals give vent to their exasperation after days of trekking and dodging soldiers in an attempt to escape failed crops, hunger and an autocratic government. Over 12 million people across the Horn of Africa are struggling from […]

Utilities and climate scientists team up to prepare for bleak water future

By Lisa Song, SolveClimate News19 August 2011 Ten of the nation’s largest water utilities have teamed up to connect climate scientists and water providers so utilities will have the information they need to prepare for the harmful effects of global warming. Climate change will create a host of challenges that affect water supply, water quality, […]

Inland New South Wales a tinder box, say bushfire experts

By Nicky Phillips 29 August 2011 A THICK blanket of grass spanning the width of Australia will pose a significant bushfire threat this season, experts say. While the record-breaking rains that fell across the eastern states earlier this year replenished drought-depleted soil, they also spurred large amounts of vegetation growth, particularly grass, the likes of […]

Global warming behind East Africa drought

By Julio Godoy26 August 2011 Paris (IPS) — The severe drought in the Horn of Africa, which has caused the death of at least 30,000 children and is affecting some 12 million people, especially in Somalia, is a direct consequence of weather phenomena associated with climate change and global warming, environmental scientists say. “The present […]

Assessing climate change in a drought-stricken state

By KATE GALBRAITH26 August 2011 So, is this the result of climate change? Scientists hedge, particularly when it comes to the drought, because they are reluctant to pin any single weather event on climate change. They point to La Niña, an intermittent Pacific Ocean phenomenon that affects storms, as the immediate cause. “We can’t say […]

‘Exceptional drought’ record for United States set in July 2011

Writer: Steve Smith, University Communications, (402) 472-4226 Contact: Brian Fuchs, National Drought Mitigation Center climatologist, (402) 472-6775 The percent of contiguous U.S. land area experiencing exceptional drought in July reached the highest levels in the history of the U.S. Drought Monitor, said an official at the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. […]

Texas drought takes toll on wildlife – Sections of major rivers have dried up completely

By John Burnett26 August 2011 The unfolding calamity that is the Texas drought has thrown nature out of balance. Many of the wild things that live in this state are suffering. Sections of major rivers — like the Brazos, the Guadalupe, the Blanco, Llano and Pedernales — have dried up. In many places, there aren’t […]

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