Australia’s wettest spring on record causing floods, crop failures, evacuations, and locust plagues – ‘2010 held so much hope for our farmers’

By Hamish Boland-RudderDecember 7, 2010 AS NSW counts the cost of crop losses, evacuations, and property destruction brought by flooding rains, communities are preparing to deal with the human side of the disaster. The Macquarie River, which flows through the Warren Shire, has reached its highest level in 20 years after more than 100 millimetres […]

Maya village in Mexico suffers as climate changes

By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Sun Dec 5, 4:59 pm ET TABI, Mexico – The first time Araceli Bastida Be heard the phrase “climate change” was on TV two years ago. Then she began to understand why strange things had been happening in her village. Tabi was in its second year of drought, and the […]

Mideast prays for rain as balmy weather lengthens drought

Nicosia (AFP) Dec 3, 2010 – Israeli firefighters are battling a deadly forest fire as unseasonably warm weather blankets a tinder dry Middle East, and some countries are even organising prayers for rain. Thousands of Israeli firemen and rescuers fought to put out the fire on the second day running, as international help poured in […]

Andes: Water conflicts, growing deserts, shrinking rivers, extreme temperatures, and spreading diseases

By John Vidal, www.guardian.co.uk Friday 26 November 2010 16.52 GMT Last month I went on an extraordinary, epic journey through the Andes mountains of Peru and Ecuador. The aim was to record the stories of the largely hidden people on the frontline of climate change, and see how communities and governments are trying to adapt. […]

Africa to fall short on water Millennium Goals: UN

By Staff WritersNov 26, 2010 Nairobi (AFP) – Most African countries will fail to attain the United Nation’s Millennium Goals on access to water and sanitation, the world body’s environment agency said on Friday. “Only eight countries in Africa are expected to attain the MDG target of reducing by half the proportion of the population […]

Another extreme drought hits the Amazon, raising climate change concerns

By Joe Romm November 26, 2010 We know from simple on-the-ground knowledge that the 2010 drought was extreme, leading to record lows on some major rivers in the Amazon region and an upsurge in the number of forest fires. Preliminary analyses suggest that the 2010 drought was more widespread and severe than the 2005 event. […]

Graph of the Day: Global Precipitation Trend, 1950-2008

From 1950 to 2008, most land areas have warmed up by 1–3°C, with the largest warming over northern Asia and northern North America. During the same period, precipitation decreased over most of Africa, southern Europe, South and East Asia, eastern Australia, Central America, central Pacific coasts of North America, and some parts of South America. […]

Long-term drought trend causes Perth to drain aquifers

By Chalpat SontiNovember 11, 2010 The equivalent of an extra 17,600 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water will be taken from Perth’s aquifers this year, as a prolonged dry spell bites hard on supplies. The Department of Water has approved the Water Corporation’s application to take 165 gigalitres from the Gnangara and Jandakot aquifers. That is […]

Years of drought and mismanagement hit Syria water supply, cause largest internal migration in country’s history

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis; editing by Alistair Lyon and Janet LawrenceMon Nov 15, 2010 9:32am EST JUB SHAEER, Syria (Reuters) – The ancient Inezi tribe of Syria reared camels in the sandswept lands north of the Euphrates river from the time of the Prophet Mohammad. Now water shortages have consigned that way of life to […]

Climate change worsens plight of Iraq farmers

By Khalid al-Ansary and Serena Chaudhry; additional reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra and Khalid Farhan in Najaf; editing by Alistair Lyon and Janet Lawrence)Sun Nov 14, 2010 8:22am EST BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Frequent dust storms and scarce rains are stifling Iraq’s efforts to revive a farming sector hit by decades of war, sanctions and […]

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