Historic Syria drought drags on, rivers polluted, aid funding dries up

DAMASCUS, Syria, March 8, 2010 (ENS) – Up to 60 percent of Syria’s land and over one million people are gripped by the worst drought in 40 years, but a deep funding shortfall for emergency assistance has left the United Nations aid agencies at a loss. The humanitarian arm of the United Nations is being […]

Drought ravages famous rice terraces in the northern Philippines

MANILA (AFP) – A WORSENING drought is exacting a terrible toll on the world-famous mountain rice terraces of the northern Philippines, local officials said Tuesday. A state of calamity was this week declared for the Banaue area that is home to many of the ancient stone-walled paddies and one of the Southeast Asian nation’s most […]

Water scarcity looms for world rice production

Contact: Tara Shyamt.shyam@irri.org656-773-0801International Rice Research Institute Singapore: Singaporeans consume around 275,000 tons of rice each year, which requires 688 billion liters of water to be produced – 2.5 times Singapore’s annual domestic water use. Competition for water is getting fiercer and water supplies are dwindling, yet Singapore can contribute to securing its rice supply by […]

‘A slow, silent disaster’ – Worst drought in a century dries up Vietnam's waterways

By Staff WritersHanoi, Vietnam (UPI) Mar 8, 2009 Vietnam is struggling with its worst drought in more than 100 years. With practically no rainfall since September, the country is facing timber fires, plagues of rice-eating insects that are destroying millions of acres of rice paddies and dried-up rivers, Time magazine reports. For a country that […]

‘We blamed God’ — Women hit by climate change head to Capitol Hill

  (Reuters) – Women hit hard by the effects of climate change — drought, floods, sea level rise and crop failure — gathered on Monday to plan a Capitol Hill push for U.S. legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Climate “witnesses” from the United States, Peru, Senegal, Uganda and other countries aim to tell their […]

Australia storm ‘catastrophe’ to cost hundreds of millions of dollars — weekend deluge will bring weeks of flooding

By NICKY PHILLIPSMarch 9, 2010 A HUGE body of water that has caused widespread flooding in south-western Queensland is on its way south and is expected to cause extensive flooding in NSW over the next two months. Meanwhile, the damage bill from wild weather in Melbourne at the weekend is expected to come to hundreds […]

Record-breaking rain and hailstorms wreak havoc across southern New South Wales

By  PAUL BIBBY AND NICKY PHILLIPSMarch 8, 2010 EMERGENCY services were forced to evacuate 120 people from a town in southern NSW, and the army was called in to help protect properties at nearby Wagga Wagga, as record rains wreaked havoc across the region. The rising torrent in Kyeamba Creek forced the inhabitants of Ladysmith […]

India water availability in 2050 less than half of 2001 levels

By Staff WritersNew Delhi (AFP) March 8, 2010 India faces a water crisis with availability in decline and demand rocketing, and the profligate agricultural sector is in the firing line. Farmers’ wasteful use of water is unsustainable in a country with a fast-growing population and rapidly industrialising economy, says Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. […]

Graph of the Day: Himalaya Snow Cover Trend, 1990-2001

Trend in annual linear snow cover (% per decade) from 1990 to 2001 as obtained from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) EASE Grid weekly snow cover and sea ice extent dataset (Armstrong and Brodzik, 2005). Trend is based on a least-square linear fit. February 03, 2010Julie Chao 510-486-6491  JHChao@lbl.gov   The fact that […]

Fires rage in parched Vietnam forests – Red River at record low

By Van Phuc – Translated by Hai Mien Vietnam’s northern mountainous region has seen an outbreak of severe forest fires over the last few days, with many blazes yet to be brought under control. The central steering committee for forest protection, and fire prevention and fighting, said March 4 that persistent hot, dry weather has […]

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