Food crisis in Southern Africa after two consecutive seasons of droughts, including worst in 35 years – Race against time to ensure 23 million people receive farm aid

28 July 2016, Rome (FAO) – With only a few weeks before land preparation begins for the next main cropping season, some 23 million people in Southern Africa urgently need support to produce enough food to feed themselves and thus avoid being dependent on humanitarian assistance until mid 2018, FAO said today. A FAO-prepared response […]

Crisis on high: In the Himalayas, a climate disaster is unfolding that will impact the lives of more than 1 billion people

By Matthew Carney; photography by Wayne McAllister25 July 2016 (ABC News) – Deep in the Himalayas sits a remote research station that is tracking an alarming trend in climate change, with implications that could disrupt the lives of more than one billion people and pitch the most populated region of the world into chaos. The […]

Norfolk, Virginia prepares for sea-level rise and more – ‘Here in Norfolk, we’re sort of the canary in the coal mine’

By Bud Ward26 July 2016 (ChavoBart Digital Media) – Norfolk, Virginia is home to the world’s largest naval base. But now it’s also known for repeated flooding. Mason Andrews of Hampton University works with her students to identify solutions – like rain barrels – that help Norfolk residents live with the encroaching water. She says […]

World Resources Institute: As clouds head for the poles, time to prepare for food and water shocks

By Charles Iceland, Betsy Otto, and Richard Waite25 July 2016 (WRI) – A changing climate means less rain and lower water supplies in regions where many people live and much of the planet’s food is produced: the mid-latitudes of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, including the U.S. Southwest, southern Europe and parts of the Middle […]

Toxic algae smothers Utah Lake, sickens 100 – ‘We don’t have an idea of how long this event will last’

SPANISH FORK, Utah, 22 July 2016 (AP) – A huge toxic algae bloom in Utah has closed one of the largest freshwater lakes west of the Mississippi River, sickening more than 100 people and leaving farmers scrambling for clean water during some of the hottest days of the year. The bacteria commonly known as blue-green […]

Firefly populations are blinking out globally – ‘Everyone is reporting declines’

By John R. Platt 7 July 2016 (TakePart) – Blink and you’ll miss them this summer. Around the world, people are reporting that local firefly populations are shrinking or even disappearing. The insect’s dilemma first came to the world’s attention at the 2010 International Firefly Symposium, where researchers from 13 nations presented evidence of firefly […]

‘Water windfall’ found in drought-stricken California – Deep groundwater resource threatened by land subsidence and oil production

By Bobby Magill27 June 2016 (Climate Central) – California’s Central Valley has three times more freshwater in underground aquifers than previously thought, drinking water that could help the state weather future drought and fortify itself against a changing climate, according to a new Stanford University study. But tapping that water, locked thousands of feet beneath […]

Ranch crisis in Mexico: 45,000 cattle killed this year by severe drought and heat

[Translation by Google.] By Gerardo Sanchez Source25 June 2016 VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico (Televisa News) – The herd of Tabasco is undergoing one of its worst crises in recent years, severe drought and heat are killing animals. “If you do not have livestock water is consumed, is spent their energies, their body fat and muscle, there are […]

Image of the Day: Satellite view of depleted Panchet reservoir in India, 12 June 2016

Landsat 8 satellite image of India’s Panchet reservoir on 10 June 2015. Landsat 8 satellite image of India’s Panchet reservoir on 12 June 2016. By Adam Voiland17 June 2016 (NASA) – Monsoon rains began arriving across India in early June 2016. For many Indians, it was not a moment too soon. After three underwhelming monsoon […]

Groundwater pumping sinks Beijing region at increasing rate

By Brett Walton15 June 2016 (Circle of Blue) – Beijing, one of the world’s most water-scarce large cities, has long drawn on groundwater reserves to supply more than 20 million people. The unrelenting pressure for water, though, is causing the land to shift and sink and buckle, which puts subway and high-speed rail lines, buildings, […]

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