As climate change intensifies, it is imperative for policymakers to address the escalating loss and damage it inflicts on vulnerable communities in developing countries. In India's Maharashtra state, these impacts are forcing rural families into life-altering decisions and migrations to work in sugarcane fields, where exploitative practices by contractors, including …
Cape Town – The latest average dam levels for the Western Cape have dropped to 18.9%, from last week's 19.5%, the Western Cape government said on Monday as it reminded struggling farmers that there was help available. "We are keeping a close eye on the weather in the hope that …
People in Cape Town may be forced to turn off their taps in July - because of an unprecedented drought in South Africa. If that happens, Cape Town will become the first major city in the world to run out of water. Authorities say only substantial rainfall can fix the …
Rivers have already started drying up The district is facing an acute drought-like situation with major rivers here beginning to dry up as early as March. The water flow in the Payaswini river, a tributary of the Chandragiri, has stopped at Neyyamkayam near the north-eastern border hamlet of Kanathur. The …
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize says there is R6bn allocated for disaster relief in the budget, and that more is coming through special disaster funds. Mkhize, on behalf of the inter-ministerial task team on water, finally announced in Parliament on Tuesday that the water crisis affecting multiple …
Ethiopia said on Tuesday that about 7.88 million of its citizens need emergency food aid and that climate change has been a special challenge for the country’s food security. “Ethiopia’s geographical location and its diverse agro-ecology makes it vulnerable to climate-induced disaster mainly to drought and floods,’’ said Mitiku Kassa, …
South Africa has declared that the drought afflicting Cape Town and other parts of the country is a national disaster. The government announcement on Tuesday allows officials to more easily direct resources to drought relief and long-term recovery plans. The government says the drought is especially severe in the three …
Despite reports that the Western Cape was out of the danger zone‚ the Gift of the Givers has dispersed 120 tons of water from its Joburg office to parts of the drought-stricken province‚ saying some rivers and dams are virtually dry. "The Western Cape drought is serious. Many don’t understand …
Moody’s has criticised the city of Cape Town over its handling of the water-supply crisis, saying it will have severe consequences for the city’s long-term finances. Daniel Mazibuko, a Moody’s associate lead analyst, said on Monday that the city’s initial response had been tardy, despite the lack of diversification of …
Rating’s agency Moody’s warned on Monday the water crisis affecting Cape Town would cause the city’s borrowing to rise sharply and the provincial economy to shrink the longer the situation lasted. A severe drought afflicting South Africa’s Western Cape province is expected to cut agricultural output by 20 percent in …
With dry seasons now becoming longer, women are working harder to feed and care for their families without support. United Nations: Women are more likely than men to be affected by climate change, UN figures revealed on Thursday. The figures indicated that 80 percent of people displaced by climate change …
A team of University of Georgia researchers has developed a new way to breed plants with better traits. By introducing a human protein into the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, researchers found that they could selectively activate silenced genes already present within the plant. Using this method to increase diversity …
South Africa’s city of Cape Town said on Wednesday that if no rainfall comes then “Day Zero”, when the taps are predicted to run dry, would be pushed back to 27 August from July 9, and that the bullet could be dodged completely this year. Debris is seen as water …
The United States will give more than $533 million in humanitarian aid for victims of conflicts and drought in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and the West and Central African countries bordering Lake Chad, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday. Tillerson made the announcement at a speech in …
The drought has halted economic growth in the Western Cape‚ finance MEC Ivan Meyer said in his budget speech on Wednesday. Agriculture and agri-processing‚ which together produce goods and services worth R54bn‚ had been hard hit‚ he said. "A report by the Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Bureau …
Somalia will plunge back into famine if humanitarian aid is pulled out of the Horn of Africa country, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a statement Monday. The statement came ahead of the Somalia humanitarian conference that will take place in London on Tuesday. NRC regional director Nigel Tricks …
Wanton forest destruction under current and former governments have come back to haunt millions of Kenyans, who are now going to bed on an empty stomach. Some 3.4 million Kenyans have no food. Experts blame the devastating effects of deforestation in the 1990s. The country is facing an unprecedented and …
Cytoskeleton plays a vital role in stress tolerance; however, involvement of intermediate flaments (IFs) in such a response remains elusive in crop plants. This study provides clear evidence about the unique involvement of IFs in cellular protection against abiotic stress in rice. Transcript abundance of Oryza sativa intermediate flament (OsIF) …
Cape Town - The latest average level, for dams across the Western Cape, is 20.83% - compared to 30.09% for the same time last year - MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell said on Monday. "At this stage, the water situation in our 30 municipalities …
Residents of Mariango and Mitangani village in Kilifi County in search of water after almost all rivers and water points went dry last year. There has been a prolonged [File, Standard] Thousands of households in four counties at the Coast are facing starvation, with the situation in Kilifi and Tana …
The last budget of the Modi government comes against the backdrop of severe agrarian and rural distress. It is also the last opportunity to undo the damage caused to the rural economy by this government in the last four years. While the government has finally acknowledged the gravity of the …
