Water Shortage & Pollution
 
DROUGHT & DESERTIFICATION
  • Within 50 years, there could be irreversible drought (permanent desertification) in the southwestern US, Southeast Asia, Eastern South America, Western Australia, Southern Europe, Southern Africa, and northern Africa. 1(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), 2009)
  • The percentage of Earth's land area gripped by severe drought more than doubled from the 1970s to the early 2000s.2 (Dai, 2004)
  • Examples of recent regional droughts:
    • China’s northern region, where 10-meter deep cracks began to appear in fields. Without drastic changes in water use, there could be tens of millions of environmental refugees from China appearing within the next ten years.3 (Sept 2010)
    • Having just faced historic floods in 2009 due to a record rise in Amazon River water levels, several communities in Brazil’s Amazonas state have been isolated by drought and can no longer be accessed by boat, only by foot through the forest. 4,5(Sept 2010)
    • Iraq, China, Chad, Australia, Mongolia, Africa’s Sahel region, among others, have been suffering drought conditions in 2010.6,7,8,9,10,11

SHORTAGE: WATER
  • The world's rivers are in a “crisis state” on a global scale. Water supplies for nearly 80% of the world’s populations are highly threatened. Nearly a third of sources studied are also highly jeopardized by biodiversity loss.22,23 (US researchers Professor Peter McIntyre of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and City College of New York modeler Charles Vörösmarty)
  • Recent regional reports on water shortage:
    • The Middle East’s water supply has shrunk to a quarter of its 1960 level.24 (Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED), 2010)
    • The Tigris and Euphrates rivers dropped to less than a third of their normal levels due to drought.25 (UN Inter-Agency Information and Analysis Unit (IAU))
    • UK’s increasingly hotter, drier summers could cause extreme water shortages as river flows are reduced by 80%.26,27 (Britain’s Government Office for Science, 2010)
  • Sources of groundwater for wells, which support half our world’s population, are running dry.28 (Lance Endersbee, Monasy University, Australia)
  • 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water.29 (World Health Organization, 2005)
Latest News
Brazilian scientists discover that banana peels help to purify water. - 18 Apr 2011
Dwindling fresh water supplies in California, USA. - 20 Mar 2011
Ancient mega-drought parched Africa and Asia. - 17 Mar 2011
Flood and water catastrophes loom ahead. - 16 Mar 2011
Climate change linked to harmful water-borne diseases. - 15 Mar 2011
Arsenic and other toxins in Âu Lạc's (Vietnam) groundwater. - 24 Feb 2011
Relentless drought puts Chinese at risk. - 20 Feb 2011
China experiences severe drought. - 28 Jan 2011
Somalia's drought results in fatalities and forced migration. - 26 Jan 2011
Syria launches model water scarcity park. - 24 Jan 2011
China's Shandong province suffers drought. - 9 Jan 2011
Experts warn of widespread desertification threat. - 30 Dec 2010
Thousands endangered by Somali drought. - 22 Dec 2010
Water shortage taking toll in Egypt. - 6 Dec 2010
Central China water levels near record lows due to drought. - 5 Dec 2010
more  
46
Water resources dwindling in Indonesia. - 21 July 2008
45
Peruvian Andes may completely melt within 25 years.- 19 July 2008
44
Early snowmelt and warming feedback amplify US drought effects. - 18 July 2008
43
Expert finds disappearing glaciers in Turkey. - 15 July 2008
42
Demand for water in Namibia is expected to exceed supply by 2015 - 13 July 2008
41
Australia to suffer more intense heat and drought due to climate change. - 10 July 2008
40
Focus on water and sustainable development.-6 July 2008
39
Hydrologists concerned about social consequences of climate change.-27 Jun 2008
38
Ghana fosters public awareness of global warming. - 26 Jun 2008
37
Australian rivers on the verge of being non-recoverable. - 19 Jun 2008
36
Afghanistan’s wheat crops projected to shrink due to climate change.-13 Jun 2008
35
Desert is claiming southeast Spain - 6 Jun 2008
34
Parts of the East Coast are running out of water. - 5 Jun 2008
33
Ethiopia: UN Allocates $13 Million for Drought Victims - 05 Jun 2008
32
70% of all water goes to producing food :new report - 29 May 2008
31
Vietnam’s south central coast risks becoming deserts - 28 May 2008
30
Global warming will create droughts in the state of Texas on a disastrous scale.- 27 May 2008
29
California counties ration water. - 26 May 2008
28
Climate change brings more extreme weather to Chile. - 26 May 2008
27
Zimbabwe estimated to be most affected by global warming. - 24 May 2008
26
Drought in southern Australia correlated with climate change.- 4 May 2008
25
Global warming may causes more droughts in India.- 23 Apr 2008
24
Spain faces most severe droughts in 70 years. - 22 Apr 2008
23
Drought removes rice from Australia. - 20 Apr 2008
22
Mountain ranges to become diminished water resource in future. - 17 Apr 2008
21
Canada’s northwest lakes see alarming effects of climate change.- 7 Apr 2008
20
Food and water security in Republic of The Gambia depend on new climate change policy. - 5 Apr 2008
19
Canada must prepare for climate change. - 4 Apr 2008
18
Swiss glacier melt accelerating from global warming. - 1 Apr 2008
17
Peruvians worry as time runs out on their Andean glaciers. - 27 Mar 2008
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The 2009 World Water Week Conference: Preserve Our Precious Water Resources
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The World City Water Forum 2009
Part 1
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Part 2
 
Make Every Drop Count: The Water Footprint Network (In Dutch)
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Drying Rivers, Lakes and Reservoirs
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20,000-40,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of beef
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Are we short of water,food?
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