Record drought in Bolivia drains lakes, threatens capital, and kills livestock by the thousands – “The situation in our area is critical”

4 January 2017 (The Associated Press) – Last year, the flowering quinoa plants painted Florencio Tola’s farmlands in vibrant sepia and ochre tones. But this season, all that could be seen was the straw colour of dried-out stalks that never germinated amid Bolivia’s worst drought in 30 years. Nearby a collection of scrawny cows, with […]

Civil conflict and unpredictable weather cast “long shadow on food security” in 2016 – UN

8 December 2016 (United Nations) – This year, the world suffered many weather-related shocks and civil conflicts which pressured food security for many countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said today in a new report, which said that while the global agricultural situation is posited to improve in 2017, some 39 countries […]

No more mass deaths from drought in Northeast Brazil

By Mario Osava1 January 2017 OURICURI, Brazil (IPS) – The drought that has plagued Brazil’s semiarid Northeast region since 2012 is already more severe than the 1979-1983 drought, the longest in the 20th century. But prolonged dry spells no longer cause the tragedies of the past. There are no widespread deaths from hunger or thirst […]

UN launches $2.66 billion appeal for emergency assistance in Sahel region – ‘The Sahel will remain the site of one of the world’s major humanitarian operations in 2017’

  7 December 2016 (UN) – The United Nations and its partner non-governmental organizations today launched an appeal for $2.66 billion to provide emergency assistance across eight countries in the Sahel region, where “millions of people still live in conditions of deplorable human suffering.” “The Sahel faces considerable challenges and will remain the site of […]

National Geographic asked photographers to show the impact of climate change, here’s what they shot

24 November 2016 (Washington Post) – National Geographic asked a global community of photographers to share their stories about climate change. Photos were submitted through Your Shot, National Geographic’s online photo community, and then editors’ selections were chosen to be in an exhibit at the Conference of the Parties 22 Climate Summit in Morocco. [more] […]

EPA concludes fracking can threaten water supplies

[Expect these sorts of studies to stop when Scott Pruitt, longtime enemy of the EPA and Trump’s selection to head the EPA, takes control. –Des] By Patrick G. Lee14 December 2016 (ProPublica) – Starting in 2008, ProPublica published stories that found hydraulic fracking had damaged drinking water supplies across the country. The reporting examined how […]

Bolivian water crisis as glaciers vanish

By Jan Rocha26 November 2016 SÃO PAOLO (Climate News Network) – The government of Bolivia, a landlocked country in the heart of South America, has been forced to declare a state of emergency as it faces its worst drought for at least 25 years. Much of the water supply to La Paz, the highest capital […]

Study predicts deserts in Spain if global warming continues

By Frank Jordans27 October 2016 (PhysOrg) – Southern Spain will become desert and deciduous forests will vanish from much of the Mediterranean basin unless global warming is reined in sharply, according to a study released Thursday. Researchers used historical data and computer models to forecast the likely impact of climate change on the Mediterranean region, […]

Megadrought risks soar as atmosphere warms in U.S. Southwest

By Blaine Friedlander5 October 2016 (Cornell Chronicle) – As a consequence of a warming Earth, the risk of a megadrought – one that lasts more than 35 years – in the American Southwest likely will rise from a low chance over the past thousand years to a 20 to 50 percent chance in this century. […]

UN warns 330,000 people are ‘one step from famine’ in Madagascar drought

By Peter Lykke Lind 25 November 2016 (Antananarivo) – The severe drought afflicting southern Madagascar has left 330,000 people on the brink of famine, a senior UN official has warned. Three successive years of failed rains have left the island nation wrestling with crop failure and a chronic lack of food and clean drinking water, […]

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