The record-breaking drought in Texas that has fueled wildfires, decimated crops, and forced the sale of cattle herds has also reduced levels of groundwater to the lowest levels observed in more than 63 years. Groundwater is moisture trapped in pores in the soil and in
Through August, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) estimated that ten weather disasters costing at least $1 billion had hit the U.S., at total cost of up to $45 billion. However, the October 29 snow storm brings us up to eleven billion-dollar disasters. Flood
WMO issued preliminary Status of the Global Climate report. Global temperatures in 2011 are currently the tenth highest on record and are higher than any previous year with La Niña event, which has a relative cooling influence. The 13 warmest years have all occurred
Latest projections indicates that state’s population will double to 46 million over the next half-century. It means that the days of cheap and abundant water are coming to an end, and where the additional supply will come from is not clear.Sixty years after the
The Suguta Valley is one of the driest places in Kenya, and may be one of the driest places near Earth’s Equator. The remote location limits field studies, but data indicate that annual precipitation is less than 300 millimeters (12 inches) a year, while evaporation
More than 2 million Afghans are at risk of hunger and many are bracing to be stranded for months without help as the country prepares for a harsh winter. Save the Children and Oxfam agencies called for a redoubling of the aid effort to reach people in need before the
Hongjianzhuo Lake in Yulin city, China’s biggest freshwater lake in desert areas, Northwest China’s Shaanxi province is rapidly shrinking. The fish output of the lake used to reach 360 tons a year. However, it is rare to see any fish in the lake now, as they are dying
Lake Orumiyeh (also Orumieh or Urmia) in northwestern Iran is one of the world’s largest landlocked salt lakes, but it is rapidly shrinking.Orumiyeh is fed by roughly 60 rivers and streams—some permanent and some ephemeral—that also deliver salts. Because the
Wintertime droughts are increasingly common in the Mediterranean region, and human-caused climate change is partly responsible, according to a new analysis by NOAA scientists and colleagues at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES).
A state of emergency has been declared on the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu as stocks of drinking water dwindle following months of drought. Officials of the world’s fourth smallest nation have said that parts of the tropical atoll may have only a two-day supply of
