Drought followed by severe food shortage in Malawi

Drought followed by severe food shortage in Malawi

Peter Mutharika, the President of Malawi, South Africa, declared a state of national disaster over a severe food shortage triggered by drought, on April 13, 2016. The recent drought episode in South Africa is thought to be the worst one in the last 100 years. Severe…

Palau could completely dry up this month, officials warn

Palau could completely dry up this month, officials warn

Palau officials have warned today the country could completely dry up this month. The Pacific country, with about 18 000 people, declared the state of emergency last month due to one of the worst droughts in its history and is now asking for urgent aid. President…

Persistent drought threatens South Africa’s food supplies

Persistent drought threatens South Africa’s food supplies

Record high temperatures were recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 7, 2016. The region has been facing persistent drought conditions and related food shortage since December 2015 when the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued an alert…

American Southwest suffers persistent drought conditions

American Southwest suffers persistent drought conditions

Most of the US Southwest region has been suffering from a persistent lack of rain and snow. More than 64 million people are directly affected by drought in the Southwest and Southern Plains, and far more are indirectly affected, mostly in agricultural sector.Drought

The statistics of natural disasters: A 2013 review

The statistics of natural disasters: A 2013 review

According to the "Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2013" published this month by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2013 is a year with 330 registered natural disasters. This is less than the average annual disaster frequency ob

Large-scale decline of world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, Congo

Large-scale decline of world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, Congo

A new analysis of NASA satellite data shows Africa's Congo rainforest, the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world, has undergone a large-scale decline in greenness over the past decade.The study, led by Liming Zhou of University at Albany, State Univers