The global cost of disasters is growing: The economic burden of disasters is intensifying. While the direct costs of disasters averaged $70–80 billion a year between 1970 and 2000, between 2001 and 2020 these annual costs grew significantly to $180–200 billion. But the real cost is far higher. Disaster costs …
In 2005 and 2010 the Amazon basin experienced two strong droughts, driven by shifts in the tropical hydrological regime possibly associated with global climate change, as predicted by some global models. Tree mortality increased after the 2005 drought, and regional atmospheric inversion modelling showed basin-wide decreases in CO2 uptake in …
In the southwestern United States, where years of drought are leading water managers to consider drastic water-provision measures such as desalination and cloud seeding, entrepreneurs have suggested reviving a water-saving technique that was tried and abandoned half a century ago. They propose to stretch dwindling water supplies by slowing down …
The number of suicide cases by farmers due to agrarian reasons have increased by 26 percent to 1,109 in 2014, with majority of deaths reported from Maharashtra, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Out of 1,109 cases, 986 were reported from Maharashtra, 84 from Telangana and 29 from Jharkhand. In 2013, …
Rising temperatures and lessening fresh water supplies are threatening agricultural productivity and have motivated efforts to improve plant water use and drought tolerance. During water deficit, plants produce elevated levels of abscisic acid (ABA), which improves water consumption and stress tolerance by controlling guard cell aperture and other protective responses1, …
The world food crisis in 2008 highlighted the susceptibility of the global food system to price shocks. Here we use annual staple food production and trade data from 1992–2009 to analyse the changing properties of the global food system. Over the 18 year study period, we show that the global …
Forests play a vital role in sustaining water resources and aquatic ecosystems. Forest disturbance, both natural (e.g., wildfire, insects, disease, windstorms, drought) and human (e.g., timber harvesting, land conversion) caused, can have a profound effect on hydrologic, geomorphic and ecologic processes. With climate change, natural disturbances are becoming more frequent …
KARACHI: In the wake of below average rainfall in Thar in recent years, the Sindh government has planned a series of water, food and livestock projects under a strategy to end water shortfall in the drought-hit desert district, it emerged on Wednesday. Officials in the Sindh government said the death …
A Paris summit in 2015 will face a tougher task to agree a U.N. deal to slow climate change after the hopes of many that cooperation between Washington and Beijing would be a magic key to end global gridlock dissolved in chaotic preparatory talks in Lima. At best, Paris may …
KARACHI: A latest report prepared by the provincial government vis-à-vis the drought situation in Thar shows that 311 children under five years of age have died between December, 2013 and November this year, it emerged on Sunday. The report, submitted in the Sindh High Court by the chief secretary after …
Many small Pacific Island states on the frontline of sea level rise and disaster threats are facing a shortage of the scientists, skilled professionals and technical experts they need to put in place effective climate change policies and adaptation projects. "Climate change and disaster risk management expertise is critical for …
NAGPUR: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday announced an unprecedented relief package of Rs 7,000 crore for drought-hit farmers, mainly from Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. He said his government was firmly backing farmers in their hour of crisis, but this was a one-off bailout package because of the exceptional situation. …
Agricultural expansion and climate variability have become important agents of disturbance in the Amazon basin. Recent studies have demonstrated considerable resilience of Amazonian forests to moderate annual drought, but they also show that interactions between deforestation, fire and drought potentially lead to losses of carbon storage and changes in regional …
A year after Uttarakhand floods: No disaster mgmt policy to combat nature's fury. Sikkim govt to buy 100% stake in Teesta-III if other investors exit. To stop the practice of ministries unilaterally declaring relief packages in times of natural calamities such as droughts and floods, the government has asked ministries …
Scientists Say CO2 Levels Went Up In Drought Years Of 2004, 2009 A deficit monsoon not only impacts crops and groundwater level but also has a worrisome impact on the climate. An analysis of two drought years in the last decade has shown an increased level of carbon-dioxide (CO2) over …
Loss of large areas of Amazonian forest, through either direct human impact or climate change, could exert a number of influences on the regional and global climates. In the Met Office Hadley Centre coupled climate
California saw its driest year on record in 2013, and the drought is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. More than ever, urban water managers are seeking effective strategies to address water scarcity, with increasing interest in reducing residential water demand. To help achieve these goals, researchers at UCR’s …
KARACHI: The Sindh Board of Revenue has been directed by Qaim Ali Shah to declare Kachho, Kohistan and parts of Thatta district calamity hit. He directed Sindh Food, Revenue, Relief and concerned Commissioner/Deputy Commissioners to distribute wheat among 34,000 identified drought affected families with 50 kilogrammes to each family for …
For evaluating climate change impacts on biodiversity, extensive experiments are urgently needed to complement popular non-mechanistic models which map future ecosystem properties onto their current climatic niche. Here, we experimentally test the main prediction of these models by means of a novel multi-site approach. We implement rainfall manipulations—irrigation and drought—to …
Rainfall prediction is very crucial for India as its economy is based on mainly agriculture. The parameters that are required to predict the rainfall are very complex in nature and also contain lots of uncertainties. Although various approaches have been earlier suggested for prediction, the soft computing is found to …
Three quarters of European countries have placed adapting to disruption from climate change on the political agenda, but the same percentage cite factors such as time, money or technologies as a barrier to taking action, in the most comprehensive survey of the issue to date. The European Environment Agency survey …
