Related topics: climate change , weather
Drought
hideA drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and harm the local economy. This global phenomenon has a widespread impact on agriculture. The United Nations estimates that an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation, and climate instability. Lengthy periods of drought have long been a key trigger for mass migration and played a key role in a number of ongoing migrations and other humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.
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News tagged with drought
Peat fires drive temperatures up
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Peatlands, especially those in tropical regions, sequester gigantic amounts of organic carbon. Human activities are now having a considerable impact on these wetlands. For example, drainage projects, in combination with the ...
Time of day matters to thirsty trees, researcher discovers
Nov 23, 2009 |
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The time of day matters to forest trees dealing with drought, according to a new paper produced by a research team led by Professor Malcolm Campbell, University of Toronto Scarborough's vice-principal for research and colleagues ...
Invading camels to be shot in Australian town
Nov 26, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating ...
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Climate talks end with eye on next year
Dec 19, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A historic U.N. climate conference ended Saturday with only a nonbinding "Copenhagen Accord" to show for two weeks of debate and frustration. It was a deal short on concrete steps against global warming, ...
Clinton: US would help raise billions on climate
Dec 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to put new life into flagging U.N. climate talks Thursday by announcing the U.S. would join others in raising $100 billion a year by 2020 to help ...
Unique 'Climate One Stop' Web Site Unveiled in Copenhagen
Dec 15, 2009 |
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There's a storm brewing -- a storm of information, that is, in climate and environmental research. People are wading through the turbulence, trying to make sense of it all.
Climate Wizard makes large databases of climate information visual, accessible
Dec 15, 2009 |
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A Web tool that generates color maps of projected temperature and precipitation changes using 16 of the world's most prominent climate-change models is being used to consider such things as habitat shifts that will affect ...
US-China showdown still looms over climate talks
Dec 15, 2009 |
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(AP) -- In a showdown between the world's two largest polluters, China accused the United States and other rich nations Tuesday of backsliding on fighting global warming and the top U.S. envoy said Chinese ...
California's troubled waters: Satellite-based findings reveal major groundwater loss in Central Valley (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
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New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California's primary agricultural region - the Central Valley - and its major mountain water source - the Sierra Nevada - have lost nearly ...
Developing countries end boycott at climate talks
Dec 14, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Poor countries ended a boycott of U.N. climate talks Monday after getting assurances that rich nations were not conspiring to soften their commitments to cutting greenhouse gases, European officials ...
Newly identified enzymes help plants sense elevated CO2 and could lead to water-wise crops
Dec 13, 2009 |
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Biologists have identified plant enzymes that may help to engineer plants that take advantage of elevated carbon dioxide to use water more efficiently. The finding could help to engineer crops that take advantage of rising ...
New study grapples with health effects of low-intensity warfare
Dec 11, 2009 |
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For nearly two decades, Ivy Pike, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, has been studying ethnic groups in rural northern Kenya to understand how violence shapes the health of those eking out ...
New science estimates carbon storage potential of US lands
Dec 10, 2009 |
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The first phase of a groundbreaking national assessment estimates that U.S. forests and soils could remove additional quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere as a means to mitigate climate change.
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