The state of Victoria in southern Australia has recently been hit with hundreds of bush fires during a record-breaking heatwave – temperatures well above 38°C (100°F). Unfortunately, these fires have proved to be the deadliest in Australian history, with at least 166 deaths reported so far. The fires mostly appear to have been started by […]
The worst drought in half a century has parched fields across eight provinces in northern China and left nearly four million people without proper drinking water. Not a drop of rain has fallen on Beijing for more than 100 days, the longest dry spell for 38 years in a city known for its arid climate. […]
By Mick Tsikas WANDONG, Australia (Reuters) – Australia’s deadliest bushfire has killed at least 93 people, some as they fled in cars or as they huddled in houses when the inferno engulfed rural towns in the country’s southeast. The fire storm tore through several small towns north of Melbourne on Saturday night destroying everything […]
By David Clarke WAREGADUD, Kenya (Reuters) – Clouds of dust rising above the harsh scrub herald the arrival of more livestock at a borehole in northeastern Kenya, the end for some of a 45-km (28-mile) trek for water that must be repeated every few days. Drought is starting to bite in east Africa’s biggest […]
The township of Marysville in central Victoria has been almost completely destroyed by bushfires and there are grave fears for the town of Kinglake, where at least 12 people are known to have died. Aerial pictures taken by the ABC show street after street of completely destroyed homes in Marysville. Most are just piles of […]
By Andrew Torchia SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Millions of people and cattle in north China face shortages of drinking water because of a severe drought, the government said on Saturday, promising to speed up disbursement of billions of dollars of subsidies to farmers. State television quoted disaster relief officials as saying 4.4 million people and […]
Fire authorities are stretched to their limit fighting dozens of fires across Victoria and New South Wales, which have destroyed dozens of homes. A change in wind direction is making life extremely difficult for firefighters in Victoria, as they race to limit the number of houses that are lost. … Victoria’s Premier John Brumby said […]
We can expect waves of animal refugees because of climate change…before the waves of human refugees. Here’s an unexpected moment shared with a weaning koala clearly suffering in the heatwave. It was early evening on a day when finally we had some relief from the heat of the middle of the day when the youngster […]
The steady retreat of glaciers on China’s Qinghai-Tibet plateau during the past 40 years is troubling, scientists in the Asian nation said Wednesday. Xin Yuanhong, senior engineer in charge of a three-year field study, said the glaciers at the headwaters of the Yangtze, China’s longest river, now cover 406 square miles, down from 482 square […]
by Marc Moncrief Victorians should cancel whatever plans they may have had for tomorrow and take whatever steps necessary to prepare for what Premier John Brumby is calling the "worst day in the history of the state". With temperatures set to soar to the mid-40s throughout Victoria, Mr Brumby said the conditions were worse […]
