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NEWS ABOUT: drought

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California Facing Driest Year on Record

Lack of snow not a problem, water manager says

(Newser) - The snow that provides around a third of California's water has largely gone AWOL this year, and with rain also noticeably scant, experts believe the state may be about to experience its driest year since records began. The temperature pattern known as La Niña, combined with a strong... More »

Melting Peru Glaciers Threaten Water Crisis

Water is in decline 20 to 30 years earlier than expected

(Newser) - Peru’s arid Rio Santa watershed could find itself facing a serious water shortage, as rapidly melting glaciers are causing a decrease in supply 20 to 30 years earlier than anticipated. The glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, which covered some 530 square miles in the 1930s, now cover... More »

Thanks for Nothing: Pecan Prices Up 22%

Blame China, droughts for soaring cost of Thanksgiving staple

(Newser) - For those who can't face Thanksgiving without pecan pie, you're going to pay dearly for the privilege this year: the price tag on the tasty dessert is up by 22%, reports CNN . Sure, core inflation is a low 2% , but food prices are on the rise, and pecans... More »

Island Nation's Water to Run Out in Days

Australia, New Zealand join forces to help Tuvalu

(Newser) - As a drought continues to ravage Tuvalu , only a few days' supply of fresh water remains on the tiny Pacific island nation—so Australia and New Zealand are bringing over a desalination plant. Air force planes from both countries are hauling the gear to rescue Tuvalu's residents, who face... More »

Drought Hits Crisis Level in Pacific Islands

Little or no rain in six months on Tuvalu, Tokelau

(Newser) - Some island groups in the South Pacific, already in danger of being swamped by rising seas, have run out of fresh water. Tuvalu and Tokelau have declared states of emergency because of the water crisis, caused by six months of low or no rainfall and by groundwater becoming contaminated with... More »

Texas Wildfire Is 'Worst Ever'

Nearly 500 homes destroyed; 3.5M acres charred this year

(Newser) - Wildfires continued to ravage Central Texas yesterday as firefighters battled the most devastating single fire in Texas history, the Los Angeles Times reports. As of yesterday, 476 homes had been destroyed in Bastrop County, east of Austin; firefighters battled the flames as they tore through thousands of acres. With 40... More »

Somalia Famine Could Kill 750K: UN

12M in the region are in need of food aid

(Newser) - The news out of Somalia continues to grow more dismal: Today the UN announced that the drought coursing through East Africa is expected to worsen, and could claim as many as 750,000 lives in Somalia. The UN declared the Bay region a famine zone, making it the sixth area... More »

African Union Steps Up to Help Drought Victims

Donors conference pledges $356M

(Newser) - An African donors conference set up by the African Union has pledged $356 million to help alleviate the suffering of the 12 million hit by the drought battering the Horn of Africa. The lion’s share of that sum, $300 million, will come from the African Development Bank, with other... More »

Okla.'s July Was Hottest US Month on Record

Texas also set its own record for hottest July

(AP) - Sweltering may have reached a new record last month, as Oklahoma racked up the country's highest monthly average temperature ever. That's the highest average temperature, for any month, for any state, associate Oklahoma state climatologist Gary McManus said. According to automated weather recording instruments, the state's average... More »

Starving Somalia to Get Famine Designation

UN agencies poised to add 'humanitarian catastrophe' label

(Newser) - Drought and food shortages have gotten so bad in southern Somalia that the UN is almost certain to upgrade the situation from a “humanitarian emergency” to a “famine/humanitarian catastrophe,” sources tell the Telegraph . “It’s 99% certain that tomorrow we will have to declare a full... More »

UN Aid Flows at Last to Parched Somalia

Al-Shabab militants allow aid groups in for first time in 2 years

(Newser) - UN aid groups have finally begun delivering supplies to areas controlled by islamist militants in Somalia, as the Horn of Africa faces its worst drought in 60 years, reports the BBC . Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, banned international aid groups two years ago, but tens of thousands of refugees streaming... More »

Ethiopia: 4.5M Need Food Aid

$400M, or 380 tons of food, needed in Eastern Africa

(AP) - An estimated 4.5 million Ethiopians are in need of food assistance, says a government official—an increase of 40%. Nearly $400 million is needed to fill the country's food gap, adds Ethiopia's state minister of agriculture, who says Ethiopia needs to distribute 380 metric tons of food.... More »

Ahmadinejad: Europe Stealing Our Rain

West using 'special equipment' on clouds to cause droughts

(Newser) - Conspiracy theorist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is at it again: He says Europe is hijacking Iran's rainclouds. "Western countries have designed plans to cause drought in certain areas of the world, including Iran," the state news agency quoted him as saying at the inauguration of a dam. "... More »

Texas Gov. Declares 'Pray for Rain' Days

And hey, there was a drizzle near Fort Worth yesterday

(Newser) - With Texas in the midst of an historic drought and battling thousands of wildfires, Gov. Rick Perry has decided to ask for some divine intervention. The governor issued a proclamation yesterday officially declaring April 22-24 “Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas.” (You can see... More »

In Oklahoma, Worst Drought Since Dust Bowl

Grassfires tearing across South

(Newser) - Oklahoma, home of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, is parched. The four months since Thanksgiving have been the driest since before the Dust Bowl in 1921, the AP reports, and the drought is raging from Louisiana to Colorado. Grass fires have torn through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Forty percent... More »

Scientists Predict Extreme US Drought by 2030s

Lake Mead drops to record low

(Newser) - The US and much of the western hemisphere are likely to face drought conditions worse than anything seen in modern times over the decades to come, scientists warn. National Center for Atmospheric Research scientists, working with climate models and greenhouse gas predictions, believe that severe drought will affect areas including... More »

Amazon River at 40-Year Low

Dry weather cuts off Peruvian towns

(Newser) - Remote parts of Peru have been left high and dry by a dramatic drop in the Amazon river, dealing a devastating blow to local economies. The river is at its lowest level in at least 40 years in the northeastern part of the country because of a prolonged dry spell,... More »

Fire Tornado Strikes, Vanishes

Apocalyptic phenomenon hits Aracatuba, Brazil

(Newser) - It doesn't quite seem possible, but a tornado of fire has ripped through a town in Brazil, Yahoo News reports. Aracatuba has been caught in a ghastly 3-month drought, and brush fires combined with strong wind currents to suspend the fire in a column. The tornado left a trail of... More »

You'll Be Paying More for Bread Soon

Blame parched Russia, which is stopping wheat exports

(AP) - Russia today said it would ban wheat exports for the rest of the year amid a brutal drought, sending prices for the grain soaring to their highest level in two years. The upshot is that US shoppers will likely have to pay a bit more for bread, cereal, or pasta... More »

Discarded Oysters Show Colonists Suffered Drought

Finding bears out old Jamestown histories

(Newser) - Amazing what poking through the trash reveals, even if it's a few hundred years old. Scientists studying oysters discarded by the early settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, have concluded that the colonists suffered through a horrible drought, reports BBC . The oysters were high in salt, meaning the James River where they... More »

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