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 …
The UK's water security is at a critical point and decisive action must be taken to safeguard water resources, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). Unveiling its State of the Nation: Water report today (June 7), the civil engineering body warned that the urgency and severity of the …
The earth's environmental systems "are being pushed towards their biophysical limits", the United Nations Environment Program says. In a 525-page report on the health of the planet, the agency paints a grim picture. It says: "Several critical global, regional and local thresholds are close or have been exceeded. "Abrupt and …
China's capital is expected to exceed its historical record of water consumption this summer, local water authorities said Friday. It is estimated that the peak day volume of water consumption in Beijing will reach 2.97 million cubic meters this summer, said Liang Li, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Waterworks Group. …
The Government must develop a long-term water resource strategy for the UK's smart water network if it is to drive water efficiency and prevent supply disruptions. That's according to global smart grid communications specialist Sensus, which has called for the UK to consider a more sustainable way of managing water …
The acute spatial and temporal variations in precipitation patterns have greatly influenced water resources planning, management, and development in India. Specifically, these patterns have led to the development of several water transfer projects in the country. The Inter-Linking of Rivers (ILR) project is a grand example of such a water …
A delay in the onset of monsoon by 3-4 days over the Kerala coast won’t jeopardise India’s farm prospects in the crop year starting June 1 as sowing usually picks up with the arrival of the seasonal showers, according to outgoing agriculture secretary P K Basu. In an interview, Basu …
This report is the first report being published by the National Institute of Disaster Management for the year 2011. It is hoped that the publication of this report will stimulate improved data collection and research which can enable the gaps identified in the management of the disasters to be addressed …
The Centre is likely to sanction Rs 294 crore as grant for drought relief to Karnataka. This means that the State gets just eight per cent of the total relief of Rs 3,605 crore it had sought from the Union government. Secretariat sources said the Centre had indicated to the …
UN officials say they expect 18 million people in West Africa will go hungry this year, including 3 million young children whose lives or health will be at risk. W. David Gressly, the UN’s regional humanitarian coordinator for nine countries in the arid Sahel region of Africa, says during 2012 …
More than 5.5 million people in Southwest China's Guizhou province have been affected by droughts, rainstorms and hailstorms so far this year, local authorities announced Tuesday. Droughts, rainstorms and hailstorms in Guizhou have inflicted direct economic losses of 1.8 billion yuan ($283.6 million), according to the provincial flood control and …
North Korea is reporting a serious drought that could worsen already critical food shortages, but help is unlikely to come from the US and South Korea following Pyongyang's recent rocket launch. North Korea has had little rain since 27 April, with the country's western coastal areas particularly hard hit, according …
“The Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers have experienced dramatic changes in flow due to the construction of dams, anthropogenic contamination and other activities, National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) senior scientist Dr S. Masood Ahmad said here on Sunday. “The Godavari would require significant intervention to protect its ecosystems and the …
We explore the relationship between farming practice changes made by households coping with the huge demographic, economic, and ecological changes they have seen in the last 10 years and household food security. We examine whether households that have been introducing new practices, such as improved management of crops, soil, land, …
Climate researchers said Thursday the planet could warm by more than 3.5 degrees Celsius, boosting the risk of drought, flood and rising seas. The UN's target is a 2 C limit on warming from pre-industrial levels for manageable climate change. In a report, scientists said Earth's average global temperature rise …
Even as drought persists in parts of Kenya's arid north, intense rains are claiming lives in other parts of the country – flooding slums in the capital Nairobi, sweeping away hikers in the Rift Valley, and destroying crops. Many Kenyans shake their heads in dismay at the increasingly extreme and …
Killer heat fueled by climate change could cause an additional 150,000 deaths this century in the biggest U.S. cities if no steps are taken to curb carbon emissions and improve emergency services, according to a new report. The three cities with the highest projected heat death tolls are Louisville, with …
The Central government has sanctioned Rs. 588 crore as drought relief for Maharashtra, which is reeling under the crisis, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Patangrao Kadam announced on Tuesday. The State whose 15 districts have been declared drought-affected, had appealed to the Centre for relief recently. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and …
Drought and disease have devastated life of coconut growers in the district. Rubbing salt into their wounds is the slump in price of copra and coconut. Various diseases, including pest attack and stem bleeding, have ravaged crops on thousands of acres. Coconut trees in the rain-fed regions of Madhugiri, Pavagad, …
China's capital will spend 118 million yuan ($18.66 million) by the end of the year to improve the quality of drinking water drawn from wells, the city's water resource management authorities said Wednesday. The quality of drinking water for about 300,000 people will be greatly improved following technical modifications to …
Policies and programmes on climate change have failed to address the problems of the vulnerable communities at the grassroots level in the country, a new study said. The findings on "Towards climate change resilience building of vulnerable mountain people and local governments" in Ramechhap shared that there is a lack …
