By Peter Ker MELBOURNE’S dwindling water storages are on the verge of a historic low, a quarter of a century after the Thomson Dam was promised to drought-proof the city. The nine major dams are expected to fall to 28.4 per cent of capacity today, matching the record low set in June 2007. Despite rain […]
From Climate Progress: Drought, fires, killer heat waves, wildlife extinction and mosquito-borne illness — the things that climate change models are predicting have already arrived there, [scientists] say. That’s the subhead on a stunning L.A. Times piece, “What will global warming look like? Scientists point to Australia,” which opens starkly: Reporting from The Murray-Darling Basin, […]
The persistence and severity of the drought in the Murray-Darling Basin has been described as "unprecedented" after late summer inflows to the river system fell to a 117-year low. The "bleak" outlook for next three months was adding to the grim news, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority said. Irrigation water for Australia’s food bowl will be […]
The valiant effort to save North America’s biggest bird from extinction has suffered a setback –nearly one-fifth of the cranes have died in the last 12 months. Drought and a wasting disease are the latest threats. By Ed Struzik When the world’s last remaining flock of wild whooping cranes set off on its migration south […]
By Peter Greste, BBC News, Nairobi Kenya has mobilised 3,500 security personnel to fight a series of bush fires raging out of control in some of the country’s most important forests. The government estimates that more than 4,600 hectares (11,370 acres) of bushland have already been destroyed. At least 10 people have been arrested on […]
NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 23 (Reuters) – Game wardens fear wildlife is trapped in the crater of an extinct Kenyan volcano that was engulfed by a bush fire for a third day on Monday. The blaze at on Mount Longonot — one of the best-known trekking spots in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley — has sent […]
Mar. 13–TAMPA — With local lakes and rivers at critically low levels, the region’s water provider has virtually shut down the surface water supply to the Tampa Bay region. "The reservoir’s level is so low we are unable to provide water, consistently, to the water treatment plant and we are unable to pull water from […]
PANDORA, Texas (Reuters) – Frates Seeligson recalls when his ranch last saw rain: September of last year. That was around the time he took on an extra 200 cows to help a farmer whose fields were ravaged by Hurricane Ike. Talk about a perfect storm. The worst drought on record in this parched part of […]
Severe fires in Indonesia — responsible for some of the worst air quality conditions worldwide — are linked not only to drought, but also to changes in land use and population density, according to a new study. "During the late 1970s, Indonesian Borneo changed from being highly fire-resistant to highly fire-prone during drought years, […]
KAMPALA, 3 March 2009 (IRIN) – The ice caps on the Rwenzori Mountains along Uganda’s western border have receded significantly in the past century and could disappear completely in the next few years, experts said. "The results of recent mapping are alarming," Philip Gwage, assistant commissioner in charge of meteorology in the ministry of […]
