• Tigris and Euphrates rivers losing water reserves at a rapid pace

    A large portion of the Middle East lost freshwater reserves rapidly during the past decade. New data revealed already an arid region of Tigris-Euphrates Basin, which grows even drier due to human consumption of water for drinking and agriculture. The research team

  • Long-term effects of megadrought on Amazonian forests

    The rainforests in southern and western Amazonia may be showing the first signs of potential large-scale degradation due to climate change as Amazon rainforest continues to suffer from the effects of a megadrought that began in 2005, attributed to the long-term

  • Access to water resources key for food security

    Recurring droughts highlight need to better manage water resources and safeguard food security. Ongoing worldwide drought has hurt global grain production and contributed to food price spikes every other year since 2007.One of the key messages that FAO is

  • Ancient Egypt: Study augments the drought theories

    Recent research testifies archeological records of droughts in Ancient Egypt during the demise of Egypt’s old kingdom, the era known as the pyramid-building time. A study of ancient pollen and charcoal preserved in deeply buried sediments in Egypt’s Nile Delta provides

  • Extreme drought to blame for mass fish-die offs across US?

    More than half of the continental U.S. is experiencing extreme drought conditions. Hot temperatures and lack of rain are causing heating and drying up of rivers and streams and killing thousands of fish in the process. According to Division of Fisheries, the rivers’

  • State of emergency declared in Missouri, USA

    Missouri Governor Nixon declared a state of emergency on July 23, 2012 due to prolonged severe heat and  drought.Governor explained in his statement that the emergency was declared because of public health, agricultural and fire risk concerns.Executive Order

  • Toshka Lakes in Egypt show signs of rapid drying

    Egypt’s Toshka Lakes were created in the 1980s and 1990s by the diversion of water from Lake Nasser through a manmade canal into the Sahara Desert. Flooding of the Toshka Depression created four main lakes with a maximum surface area of about 1450 square