Water shortage a global threat without urgent reform: OECD

Paris (AFP) 7 March 2012 – Water management needs urgent reform if the world is to head off serious deterioration in the quality and quantity of water available. At the release of the OECD’s Meeting the Water Reform Challenge, OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría warned that ,“Without major policy changes, we risk high costs to economic […]

UN scientists warn of increased groundwater demands due to climate change

San Francisco, 12 March 2012 (SPX)  – Climate change has been studied extensively, but a new body of research guided by a San Francisco State University hydrologist looks beneath the surface of the phenomenon and finds that climate change will put particular strain on one of our most important natural resources: groundwater. SF State Assistant […]

Graph of the Day: Daily Mean River Flows in England Relative to Historic Averages, November 2011

Despite rainfall during the summer the autumn has been very dry, river flows are still very low in some parts of the country, particularly in catchments where groundwater supports river flows. We are starting to see some rivers nearing their lowest ever recorded flows for November. These include the Coln at Bibury (Cotswolds), Nene at […]

Drought conditions in England ‘set to widen’

24 February 2012 (BBC) – Ongoing dry weather over the spring and summer threatens to place more areas of England in a state of drought, the Environment Agency (EA) has warned [pdf]. It singled out parts of western, central and south western England and parts of south east Yorkshire. The agency said time was running […]

Texas drought eases, but it’s too late for some – Drought worsens in western U.S.

By Andrew Freedman25 February 2012 (Climate Central) – Defying seasonal climate forecasts, this winter has been very good to Texas, which has been locked in the grips of one of the worst droughts in state history. But the unexpectedly generous winter storms have come too late for some, since water supplies are still running low. […]

Drought toll on urban forests in Texas: 5.6 million trees and counting

2010   2011 By Matt Dietrichson16 February 2012 About 5.6 million trees in cities and towns across Texas were killed by last year’s record-setting drought, the Texas Forest Service has estimated after studying before-and-after satellite imagery. This “dramatic” toll on the state’s urban forest is “a slow-moving disaster, not like a hurricane or ice storm,” […]

After driest year on record in Texas, water could be cut off for rice farmers

By Matthew Tresaugue and Mike Glenn23 February 2012 Rice growers have come to expect certain things from the coastal plain near Matagorda Bay: sun, rich soil and abundant water. But after the driest year on record in Texas, the farmers might be without water for the first time. The Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages […]

Mild drought brought down Maya civilization: study

23 February 2012 (AFP) – The collapse of the Mayan civilization was likely due to a relatively mild drought, much like the drier conditions expected in the coming years due to climate change, scientists said Thursday. Scholars have long believed that a major drought caused severe dry conditions that killed off the ancient culture known […]

Coastal drinking water more vulnerable to water use than climate change

Contact: Michael RobinUniversity of Saskatchewan (306) 966-1425michael.robin@usask.ca Human activity is likely a greater threat to coastal groundwater used for drinking water supplies than rising sea levels from climate change, according to a study conducted by geoscientists from the University of Saskatchewan and McGill University in Montreal. Grant Ferguson from the U of S Department of […]

Graph of the Day: Cumulative Rainfall Anomalies for Southeastern Australia, January 1997 – December 2011

Cumulative rainfall anomalies for southeastern Australia starting from January 1997 to December 2011 in mm. Individual monthly anomalies are shown in the columns. An alternative way to consider the impact of the rainfall declines and recent rainfall is to look at the cumulative rainfall anomalies for southeastern Australia. The cumulative rainfall anomalies provide a measure […]

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