Articles 2020

The signs of weakening resilience raise concerns that the world’s greatest tropical forest – and biggest terrestrial carbon sink – is degrading towards a point of no return. It follows four supposedly “one-in-a-century” dry spells in less than 20 years, highlighting how a human-disrupted climate is putting unusually intense strains on trees and other plants, many of which are dying of dehydration.

This year's heat and drought in the Amazon intensify worries that it is approaching a tipping point.

In de zomer van vorig jaar kampte Europa met een van de ergste droogtes sinds de metingen. Dit jaar zit er niet veel beterschap in.

After unusually low amounts of rain and snow this winter, the continent faces a severe water shortage.

Examination of trees alive at the time shows three years of severe drought that may have caused crop failures and famine

Flash droughts can develop within a few weeks, causing water shortages, damaging crops and worsening fire risks.

The National Drought Group of the UK predicts that yields of some vegetable crops—carrots, onion, and potatoes—could be cut in half. The European Drought Observatory says that almost half of the bloc is drier than it has been since the Renaissance. China’s agricultural ministry has urged farmers to undertake emergency switches to different crops following a historic heatwave.

IGAD’S Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) today announced that the October to December (OND) 2022 forecast shows high chances of drier than average conditions across most parts of the Greater Horn of Africa. In particular, the drought affected regions of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are expected to receive insufficient rainfall until the end of the year.

Germany’s Rhine, one of Europe’s key waterways, is just days away from being closed to commercial traffic because of very low levels caused by drought, authorities and industry have warned. Crucially, the impending crisis could lead energy companies to cut their output, one of the country’s biggest gas companies has said.

Thames Head is now more than 2 miles downstream as forecasters warn of further high temperatures to come

From the Amazon to the Andes and the snowy depths of Patagonia, extreme weather and climate change are causing mega-drought, extreme rainfall, deforestation and glacier melt across the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, according to a UN report published on Friday.

Drought blighting country’s longest waterway continues as economic hub battles climate crisis

Food supply expert paints grim global picture hunger 05.23.2022 By Arvin Donley NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US — Global wheat inventories currently stand at about 10 weeks of global consumption, a food supply expert said during a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council on May 19. Sara Menker, chief executive officer of Gro Intelligence, an organization that gathers and analyzes global food and agricultural data, said she disputes official government agency estimates that put global wheat inventories at 33% of annual consumption, countering inventories are closer to 20%. “It is important to note that the lowest grain inventory levels the world has ever seen are now occurring while access to fertilizers is highly constrained, and drought in wheat growing regions around the world is the most extreme it’s been in over 20 years,” Menker said. “Similar inventory concerns also apply to corn and other grains. Government estimates are not adding up.” Menker told the security council that while much of the blame

A new analysis of flash droughts finds that droughts coming on suddenly seem to be striking faster in the last two decades, with approximately 33–46 percent of flash droughts now emerging within just five days.

More than three-quarters of the world's largest rainforest has become less resilient to drought since the early 2000s, with areas near humans and with lower rainfall being the worst hit

Lake Oroville’s water level has fallen so low that on Thursday, for the first time since the dam was built in 1967, its power plant was shut down because there is no longer enough water to spin the turbines and generate electricity.Last Friday, hoping to avert any more power shutdowns, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency order that temporarily waives some air pollution rules to allow natural gas power plants to generate more electricity and pays industries $2 a kilowatt-hour to reduce their electricity use during heat waves.

Like humans, trees need water to survive on hot, dry days, and they can survive for only short times under extreme heat and dry conditions. During prolonged droughts and extreme heat waves like the Western U.S. is experiencing, even native trees that are accustomed to the local climate can start to die.

Droughts have deep, widespread and underestimated impacts on societies, ecosystems, and economies. They incur costs that are borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable people.

At the tail end of winter in 2015, the ground in the Wimmera in northwestern Victoria had been a little dry but conditions weren't too bad for farmers. The crop season was going well.