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  
12
China’s Icy Province Sees Higher Temperature, Severe Drought - 5 Mar 2008
11
Climate change 'poses drought risk for Africa' - 25 Feb 2008
10
As South American rivers dry up, miners tap ocean - 24 Feb 2008
9
Chile government hands out water in major drought - 24 Feb 2008
8
Beavers can help ease drought - 23 Feb 2008
7
Global warming - not el Nino - drove worst drought on record in the Amazon -22 Feb 2008
6
South Africa's water could run out by 2025 - 18 Feb 2008
5
Las Vegas water source could run dry by 2021 - 15 Feb 2008
4
China promotes ways to save water. - 11 Feb 2008
3
United Arab Emirates Minister calls for reusing water - 11 Feb 2008
2
Two billion face water famine as Himalayan glaciers melt - 8 Feb 2008
1
Human-caused Climate Change At Root Of Diminishing Water Flow In Western US, Scientists Find -3 Feb 2008
 
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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