Drought In Mozambique

Another day, another report on water scarcity, this time in Mozambique where rivers are drying up.

Boys play along the banks of the Zambezi river in Mozambique. The country has been hit by
flooding in the north and drought in the south. Photograph: John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images

Excerpts from an article from The Guardian:

It rained in Mbalavala two weeks ago. The clouds built up from the south, a shower cleared the dusty air, but then, cruelly, it stopped after an hour. For a moment, the 120 families who live in the southern Mozambican village thought their two-year drought was ending.

But that was it. Since then there has been no hint of rain and the chances of planting crops this year in Mbalavala diminish every day as El Niño, the natural weather phenomenon that upturns normal weather patterns every few years in southern Africa, reaches its peak and Mozambique comes to the end of another dry rainy season.

For the second year running, Mbalavala’s maize fields, which should have been planted months ago, lie empty; the soil in vegetable gardens is like sand and what little water there is from an emergency borehole must be shared between cattle and people.

Read full article here: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/feb/17/mozambique-drought-hopes-harvest-evaporate?CMP=twt_gu

Water Scarcity, Water Wars?

Water scarcity and water wars are definitely in our future. All we have to do is look to what's happening around the world. We once thought that developed countries would be the last to experience water scarcity, but if you're paying attention, that's no longer true.

The latest from The Guardian:

Four billion people face severe water scarcity, new research finds

At least two-thirds of the global population, over 4 billion people, live with severe water scarcity for at least one month every year, according to a major new analysis.

The revelation shows water shortages, one of the most dangerous challenges the world faces, is far worse previously than thought.

The new research also reveals that 500m people live in places where water consumption is double the amount replenished by rain for the entire year, leaving them extremely vulnerable as underground aquifers run down.

Many of those living with fragile water resources are in India and China, but other regions highlighted are the central and western US, Australia and even the city of London.

Read the full article: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/12/four-billion-people-face-severe-water-scarcity-new-research-finds