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 …
Meteorologists have warned that the current drought in Uganda is likely to worsen in the coming months and called on the government to formulate a strategy to cushion the country against its effects. Principal meteorologist Abushen Wamubi Majugu said: "The drought will become severe. What is required now is information …
if the drought-like situation persists in Tripura, there is a danger of the state facing a famine. Three members of a tribal family at Wakhiraipara in west Tripura have already committed suicide as they could not cope with hunger. Rabindra Debbarma, general secretary of Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti ( tujs …
A major rice variety in Bangladesh is being threatened by drought. "Our hopes for a quick agricultural recovery after last year's devastating floods have been threatened by prolonged dry weather that may badly affect the yield of Boro, a major rice variety,' said Qazi Shahabuddin Ahmed of the Bangladesh Institute …
Urban dwellers spend 80 per cent to 90 per cent of their time indoors in an environment that is dangerous to their health, according to Cui Jiusi, a Beijing environmental scientist. Cui, director of the Air Quality Monitoring Laboratory under the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, recently cited health dangers …
A gene that controls drought tolerance in plants has been identified. Scientists say that they may soon produce genetically engineered plants capable of surviving droughts. The gene was identified by scientists working at the University of Toronto, Canada. The gene controls a plant hormone that triggers closure of pores on …
The South Pacific island of Fiji is suffering from a massive drought. The sugarcane crop of 1998 is well below normal production. Even the torrential rains due to La Nina, which lashed Australia, have stayed away from Fiji. "We were hoping that La Nina could come and bring some rain …
Water supplies in a drought-stricken province in central Vietnam are running out fast, triggering growing fears of health hazards. Quang Tri province has already appealed for emergency aid as it struggles with its worst water crisis in more than a century. Tens of thousands of people are at risk from …
The Philippine government is compelled to take major steps to ease poverty and unemployment in the drought-stricken Southeast Asian region. The farm sector, which analysts say has been neglected by administrators in the past, is reeling under drought conditions propelled by the El Nino phenomenon and is desperately in need …
FARMERS in the us are having a hard time as they have lost million of dollars following a catastrophic drought. According to reports, the blistering heat has killed more than 130 people across the southern parts of the us. The heat wave shows no sign of abating and the impact …
Millions of people in Sudan are facing starvation following an outbreak of famine in the country. Aid agencies had warned just four months back about the impending famine in southern Sudan. A United Nations (UN) projection showed that about 1.2 million people are in danger of death from hunger across …
About two million people would be extended water rationing till September amidst depleting dam levels. Mohammed Shariff Jajang, chairperson of the Selangor state information committee, says that production at the main Langat and Semenyih dams is presently maintained at about 70 per cent of the normal level. "The current rationing …
Millions of families are facing acute food shortages and malnutrition, says a report of the World Food Programme ( wfp ), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation ( fao ). The crisis is expected to worsen in coming months for about 200 million people in the country. A severe drought, …
Millions of people in Indonesia may face food shortages following prolonged drought and a deepening economic crisis, warns the United Nations. In a statement, the United Nations Development Programme has said that nearly 7.5 million people in Indonesia living in 15 provinces risk experiencing food crisis if another drought takes …
For the first time, China looks serious towards the environmental problems. It has recently put the environment protection issue in the government's priority list, which is at par with agriculture, forestry, water conservation, energy, transport and telecom, says Qu Geping, director of the National Peoples Congress Resources and Environment Sub-committee. …
in the 1930s the Great Plains heartland of North America wasted away into the Dust Bowl. The eastern coast of the us was covered by 350 million tonnes of rich top soil, swept up from the Great Plains, half a continent away. Cattle died on the parched rangelands and thousands …
kalahandi contributes one-fourth of the total foodgrain procurement from Orissa. Despite this, nearly 200 people die of starvation every year, according to local people's representatives. About 90 per cent children are malnourished. This is an irony because Kalahandi's average per capita foodgrain production is higher than the per capita average …
The Colombian government has called upon the European Union to help drought-affected farmers in the country. The government has sought us $2.5 million aid in this regard. The damaging effect of the warm Pacific current, El Ni
