Drought and Deluge

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Drought and Deluge

Latest News and Analysis from all sources:

• California water-related photo gallery [March 13, 2009]

• Water scarcity clouds California farming’s future [March 13, 2009]
• Action needed to avoid world water crisis, U.N. says [March 12, 2009]

• US Drought Forecast [March 10, 2009]

• Southern South America Gripped by Drought [March 1, 2009]
• Thule Eruption Bad News for Antarctic Ice Melt [March 1, 2009]
• Calif Drought: Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency [February 28, 2009]
  

• Argentina’s 2009 crop production was 40-70 lower than in 2008, depending on the crop [February 25, 2009]

• North China on Drought Red Alert [February 6, 2009]
• Image of the Day: Folsom Lake[February 4, 2009]
• Water watchers cast a wary eye [February 4, 2009]
• Water Crisis Surfaces As Top Priority [February 2, 2009]
• Water – another global ‘crisis’? [February 2, 2009]

Australia:

• A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal
• Torrential Rains Flood Northern Australia
• You want to lose weight without exercise?
• Australian Coal and the Planet
• Vast swarms of locusts sweep across Australia

• Australia seen needing years of rain to end drought
• Murray-Darling River Communities Are Struggling

China:

• Drought, Floods, Crop Damage, Grain Losses

Cyprus:

• Worsening Signs of Planetary Stress
• Drought-hit Cyprus to ship water from Greece – Apr 22, 2008

New Zealand:

• Drought committee reconvenes

Spain:

• Barcelona ships in water supplies (Video)
  
• Parched Plain of Spain
  
• Spain plans pipeline to avert Catalan water crisis

United States:

• Will California turn to desert by 2011?

Zimbabwe:

• Drought in Zimbabwe likely to damage the 2008 maize harvest

Worldwide:

• 33 percent More Disasters

Related Links:

• The NOAA Drought Information Center
• Drought: The Creeping Disaster (Earth Observatory)
• US Drought Monitor
• Living With Drought (Aus.)

• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

Drought often have significant environmental, economic and social impacts:

• Shortages of water for agricultural, industrial, municipal and personal uses.
• Death of livestock.
• Crop failure, reduced crop yields.
• Wildfires are more common during periods of drought.
• Dust storms created by drought-enhanced land erosion and by desertification.
• Malnutrition, dehydration and related diseases.
• Famine due to lack of water for irrigation.
• Social unrest.
• Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees.
• War over natural resources, including water and food.
• Reduced electricity production due to insufficient available coolant for power stations and reduced water flow through hydroelectric dams.
• Snakes have been known to emerge and snakebites become more common.
• Creates windblown dust bowls which erodes the landscape, damages terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitat. (Source)

US Drought Monitor

Objective Long Term Drought Indicator Blend Percentiles

Objective Short Term Drought Indicator Blend Percentiles

To view regional drought conditions, goto US Drought Monitor and click on the map. State maps can be accessed from regional maps.

Desertification

• Desertification

Under Construction!