Drought

Droughts became 40% more severe over past 40 years, finds new study

Rising temperatures, driven by climate change, is increasing the atmosphere's 'thirst', making droughts around the world 40 per cent more severe over the past 40 years, according to a new study. Researchers, including those at the University of California-Santa Barbara, US, explained that the atmosphere is becoming warmer, thereby increasing its capacity to hold moisture -- atmospheric evaporative demand -- and making droughts more severe, even in places where rainfall has stayed the same. "Drought is based on the difference between water supply (from precipitation) and atmospheric water demand. Including the latter reveals substantial increases in drought as the atmosphere warms," Chris Funk, director of the Climate Hazards Center at the University of California-Santa Barbara, said. The findings published in the journal Nature indicate that atmospheric evaporative demand is playing an "increasingly important role in driving severe droughts", with the tendency likely to continue in

Cracked homes, tilting mosques: Iran's land is sinking at record rates

Iran's land is collapsing under years of drought, overuse, and poor planning, putting millions, critical infrastructure, and world heritage sites at risk

Focus on investment, drought-free projects for Maharashtra growth: Fadnavis

The Maharashtra government is creating an ecosystem to attract investment across all regions and implementing four river-linking projects worth around Rs 3 lakh crore to make the state drought-free, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday. He said prominent regions and cities of Maharashtra are emerging as hubs in different sectors and this will address the issue of regional imbalance. Speaking at the 'India Global Forum Next" event in Mumbai, Fadnavis maintained Maharashtra is ensuring smooth and uninterrupted facilities for investors, and an ecosystem is being created to attract investment across all regions of the state. As a result, a balanced development will be seen throughout Maharashtra over the next five years, he insisted. Fadnavis underlined that the state is creating new investment opportunities and supporting the global supply chain. "The state is also leading in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India. In addition, many major national and ...

Weather extremes of 2024 leading to intense floods, droughts: Report

Weather extremes of 2024 are wreaking havoc with how water moves around the planet, contributing to ferocious floods and crippling droughts, according to a new report. India saw record-high precipitation, along with countries in West Africa and Europe, it found. Global warming, caused by fossil fuel burning, is increasing the strength and rainfall intensity of monsoons, cyclones and other storm systems, an international ream of researchers, led by those at The Australian National University (ANU), said. "2024 was a year of extremes but was not an isolated occurrence. It is part of a worsening trend of more intense floods, prolonged droughts, and record-breaking extremes," lead author Albert van Dijk, a professor of water science and management, ANU, said. About four billion people, or half the world's population, from across 111 countries are estimated to have experienced their warmest year yet. "Rising sea surface temperatures intensified tropical cyclones and droughts in the Amaz

IIT report flags flood, drought risk in 11 Bihar, Kerala, Odisha districts

At least 11 districts, including Patna, Alappuzha and Kendrapara, are at a "very high" risk for both floods and droughts, necessitating immediate intervention, according to a climate risk assessment report compiled by two IITs. The report was released by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Guwahati and Mandi, in collaboration with the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), Bengaluru. According to the report titled "District-Level Climate Risk Assessment for India: Mapping Flood and Drought Risks Using IPCC Framework", 51 districts in India face "very high" flood risk, with 118 more categorised as "high" risk. Vulnerable regions include Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, and Jammu and Kashmir. The report has flagged that 91 districts were identified with "very high" drought risk and 188 districts faced "high" drought risk, primarily in Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra. Alarmingly, 11 districts, including Patna (Bihar

NYC issues first drought warning in 22 years, pauses aqueduct repairs

New York City on Monday issued its first drought warning in 22 years after months of little rain -- and will restart the flow of drinking water from an out-of-service aqueduct as supplies run low. Dry conditions across the northeast have been blamed for hundreds of brush fires. They had already prompted New York City and state officials to implement water-conservation protocols when Mayor Eric Adams upgraded the drought warning and temporarily halted a USD 2 billion aqueduct repair project that had stopped drinking water from flowing from some reservoirs in the Catskill region. Last week, a park on the northern tip of Manhattan caught fire, sending smoke billowing across the city -- less than a week after a brush fire in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. "New Yorkers should not under estimate the dry weather and what it means," Adams said at a news conference, noting the recent fires. "The fire risk is high and the fire risk is real." The city may elevate the warning to an emergency if dry

New York City declares a 'drought watch', asks residents to conserve water

New York's mayor urged residents to take shorter showers, fix dripping faucets and otherwise conserve water, issuing a drought watch Saturday after a parched October here and in much of the United States. A drought watch is the first of three potential levels of water-saving directives, and Adams pitched it in a social media video as a step to try to ward off the possibility of a worse shortage in the United States' most populous city. Mother Nature is in charge, and so we must make sure we adjust, said Adams, a Democrat. He ordered all city agencies to get ready to implement their water conservation plans. He asked the public to do its part by, for example, turning off taps while brushing teeth and sweeping sidewalks instead of hosing them down. The mayor also exhorted residents to report opened-up fire hydrants and other street leaks. The recommendation comes days after the city fixed a leaky Brooklyn hydrant that fed a homespun goldfish pond on the sidewalk. Just 0.01 inches (0

Drought has dried Amazon river tributary to lowest level in over 122 years

One of the Amazon river's main tributaries has dropped to its lowest level ever recorded, Brazil's geological service said on Friday, reflecting a severe drought that has devastated the Amazon rainforest and other parts of the country. The level of the Negro river at the port of Manaus was at 12.66 metres on Friday, as compared with a normal level of about 21 metres. It is the lowest since measurements started 122 years ago. The previous record low level was recorded last year, but toward the end of October. The Negro river's water level might drop even more in coming weeks based on forecasts for low rainfall in upstream regions, according to the geological service's predictions. Andre Martinelli, the agency's hydrology manager in Manaus, was quoted as saying the river was expected to continue receding until the end of the month. Water levels in Brazil's Amazon always rise and fall with its rainy and dry seasons, but the dry portion of this year has been much worse than usual. All o

Zimbabwe, Namibia to kill scores of elephants to feed people facing drought

Zimbabwe and Namibia have announced plans to slaughter hundreds of wild elephants and other animals to feed hunger-stricken residents amid severe drought conditions in the southern African countries. Zimbabwe said Monday it would allow the killing of 200 elephants so that their meat can be distributed among needy communities, while in Namibia the killing of more than 700 wild animals including 83 elephants is under way as part of a plan announced three weeks ago. Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, said permits would be issued in needy communities to hunt elephants and that the agency also would kill some of the overall allotment of 200 animals. We will start culling as soon as we have finished issuing out permits, Farawo said. The elephants will be taken from an area where the population has become unsustainable, Farawo said. The hunting will take place in areas such as Hwange National Park in the country's arid west whe

Namibia's drought triggers wildlife culling; Vantara steps in with help

The Vantara Foundation has expressed deep concern over the severe impact of the drought on Namibian wildlife

Namibia's drought crisis: Over 700 wild animals to be killed for food

The drought has depleted 84% of Namibia's food reserves, putting nearly half of the country's 2.5 million people at risk of severe food shortages from July to September

Firefighters battle wildfires across drought-stricken areas of Florida

Firefighters across central and southern Florida are battling wildfires that have temporarily shut down highways and caused some residents to be evacuated. On Sunday, firefighters in Pompano Beach said they found a "badly charred body" after they doused a brush fire. Officials said they couldn't determine whether the person was male or female. Firefighters said some people had been living in camps in the wooded area, but weren't sure if the victim had been living there. The cause of the fire and the death are being investigated. More than 900 acres had burned near Osteen in Volusia County as of Sunday, although the Florida Forest Service said the fire is now 90 per cent contained. The fire broke out on Saturday and may have been sparked by the remains of an earlier wildfire, Volusia County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Scott Smoak told WESH-TV. Most of central and southern Florida are currently experiencing drought conditions, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, with

UN seeks $430 mn for drought-hit Zimbabwe, says millions need food, water

About half of Zimbabwe's population urgently needs food and water after the country's worst drought in four decades, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Thursday as it launched an appeal for $430 million to help those most in need. About 7.6 million of the country's 15 million people need lifesaving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. But the agency is asking donors for the money to help the 3.1 million people in the most severely affected districts for the coming year, said Edward Matthew Kallon, U.N. resident humanitarian coordinator. A drought induced by the El Nino weather phenomenon is sweeping across much of southern Africa and has left both people and animals in desperate need of food and water. Zimbabwe, an agriculture reliant nation and one time exporter of food, is among the hardest hit by the drought. Harvests for the staple corn for the 2023-24 season are estimated at about 700,000 tons, which is 7

K'taka CM holds dharna protesting Centre's 'injustice' over drought funds

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar along with several ministers and legislators on Sunday staged a dharna here, alleging injustice done to the state by the union government while releasing the drought relief funds. Holding 'Chombu', the round water pot symbolising emptiness and deception, the leaders charged the Centre with "cheating" Karnataka by not releasing adequate relief to face acute drought, the kind of which was not witnessed in the past several decades. They held the symbolic dharna in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of "Vidhana Soudha", which houses the Legislature and Secretariat. The state government has declared 226 out of the total 236 Taluks in Karnataka as drought-hit and said there was a crop loss in 48 lakh hectares of land. According to Siddaramaiah, against the demand for Rs 18,171 crore for drought relief, the union government ordered release of only Rs 3,454 crore, that too after the state approached the Suprem

Centre released Rs 3,454 cr for drought relief: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said the Centre has approved Rs 3,499 crore as drought relief and released only Rs 3,454 crore and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give the balance amount as soon as possible. The chief minister thanked the Supreme Court for warning the Central government and providing some drought relief to the state. "According to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) rules, the state was supposed to be paid Rs 18,171 crore, but the Central government has only approved Rs 3,498.98 crore. This money is not sufficient for the drought relief. Our fight for the arrears will continue," he told reporters here. The chief minister said that the union government did not give the drought relief fund out of concern for Karnataka but it was forced to release money after the state government approached the Supreme Court and pleaded about the drought situation. "The Supreme Court, which heard this petition, was convinced that the Centre was doing ...

Siddaramaiah stages dharna over delay in release of drought funds by Centre

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday staged a dharna here protesting against the delay in release of drought relief funds by the Centre and criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the issue. Siddaramaiah said the protest -- held in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on the premises of Vidhana Soudha which houses the Legislature and State Secretariat -- was aimed at drawing public attention towards the "injustice" done to Karnataka and its people by the BJP-led government at the Centre. He alleged that Modi and Shah "hate Karnataka and its farmers" due to which the drought relief funds were not released even after seven months of severe drought. The chief minister said the state has not seen such a severe drought in 100 years. Citing government survey reports, he said 223 out of 240 taluks of the state are drought-affected. "Modi and Amit Shah hate Karnataka and its farmers," Siddaramaiah said during the protest organised by the ruling .

SC grants Centre one week to provide relief to drought-stricken Karnataka

Karnataka government has sought financial assistance of Rs 18,171.44 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for drought-relief from the Centre

Australia should prepare for 'megadroughts' lasting 20 years, shows study

The study showed that megadroughts of 20 years or more were a natural feature of the Australian hydroclimate

CM Siddaramaiah attacks Centre over K'taka's drought memorandum submission

CM Siddaramaiah wrote on X that the state submitted the 1st Memorandum to the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Home Affairs on September 23, 2023

Climate change: Drought in southern Africa leaves some 20 mn facing hunger

Delicately and with intense concentration, Zanyiwe Ncube poured her small share of precious golden cooking oil into a plastic bottle at a food aid distribution site deep in rural Zimbabwe. I don't want to lose a single drop, she said. Her relief at the handout paid for by the United States government as her southern African country deals with a severe drought was tempered when aid workers gently broke the news that this would be their last visit. Ncube and her 7-month-old son she carried on her back were among 2,000 people who received rations of cooking oil, sorghum, peas and other supplies in the Mangwe district in southwestern Zimbabwe. The food distribution is part of a program funded by American aid agency USAID and rolled out by the United Nations' World Food Programme. They're aiming to help some of the 2.7 million people in rural Zimbabwe threatened with hunger because of the drought that has enveloped large parts of southern Africa since late 2023. It has scorched the cr