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Terms searched: Drought
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18 Sep 2024
Poland swings from historic drought to flood relief in September
Poland has experienced both extremes of the hydrological spectrum in the month of September, swinging between drought in early September to a flood emergency less than two weeks later. Poland’s longest river, the Vistula, dropped to record low levels on the 9th of September due to drought conditions in the country...
5 Jul 2024
Amid severe drought, tensions rise between the U.S. and Mexico over the waters of the Rio Grande
The southern United States and large parts of Mexico have been experiencing a severe drought for several months, leading to tensions between the countries over the delayed release of waters from Mexico into the Rio Grande. 90% of Mexico is currently affected, making the current drought the most severe of its kind since 2011...
30 Apr 2024
Severe drought gripping Southern Africa
A severe drought associated with El Niño is currently affecting Southern Africa, with extremely dry and warm conditions since October 2023, leading the governments of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi to declare a state of emergency. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), El Niño effects are hitting at a time of already significant protracted unmet needs, with some 18 million people are currently experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity...
24 Apr 2024
Mexico running behind on scheduled water deliveries to U.S. amid severe drought
Currently, in the fourth year of a five year cycle of water deliveries, Mexico has only delivered 30% of the water that it shares with the United States in terms of a treaty from 1944. This is the lowest amount of water delivered to the United States at this point in the cycle since 1992. Waters entering the Rio Grande below Fort Quitman are apportioned to the United States or Mexico by terms set out in the treaty...
4 Apr 2024
Dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over Cauvery River Water reemerges amid drought
The dispute over the allocation of the waters of the Cauvery River in India flared up again during March amid an intense drought largely attributed to the El Niño climate phenomenon. The Chief Minister of Karnataka State in India declared in Mid-March that the state will not comply with central government requests to release water to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu...
8 Mar 2024
Joint Research Centre Produces Report on Drought in the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean coast is in the grip of an unprecedented drought, with reservoirs at exceptionally low levels, rivers experiencing low flow volumes, and groundwater levels dropping. The winter precipitation that is typical of the region’s climate has been well below average – from the 1st to the 20th of January the Mediterranean region experienced critical drought conditions, and a quarter of Europe and North Africa is currently under drought conditions...
6 Mar 2024
Catalonia faces worst drought on record
Large parts of the northeastern Spanish region ( autonomous community) of Catalonia are suffering their worst drought on record, leading authorities in the region to declare a drought emergency for some 80% of the population. This is the third consecutive year of drought for the region, and with low levels of snowfall during the winter, the situation is critical...
5 Mar 2024
Persistent drought causes acute water shortages in Mexico City
Mexico City is facing a severe water shortage following a persistent drought across large parts of the country, with supplies to residents being restricted to several hours a day. According to a report released on the 15th of February by Mexico’s National Water Commission CONAGUA, almost 60% of the country is currently experiencing moderate to exceptional drought...
12 Dec 2023
Spain battles critical drought amid political division and complex water challenges
The drought situation in Spain remains severe, especially affecting the mid-southern and eastern regions. Approximately 10 million people, roughly a quarter of the country's population, are currently subject to water restrictions due to this prolonged condition. In Catalonia, the ongoing water crisis has persisted for 36 months, surpassing the severity of the drought recorded in 2008...
3 Dec 2023
International trade rerouted as Panama Canal cuts traffic due to drought
On the 27th of November the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) launched a programme to auction transits through the canal. The new system will auction the transit three days prior to the route becoming available, and is a response to the strongly reduced availability of water to feed the canal. From the 3rd of November, the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) implemented additional reductions in the number of vessels travelling through the waterway in an effort to conserve water...
5 Jun 2023
Somalia floods follow years of drought
Following heavy rains and flooding in March this year, central Somalia again experienced heavy rains in mid-May, killing 22 people and affecting an estimated 450 000 people, of whom 219 000 have been displaced. The long rains, which had provided little relief during the past three years due to an ongoing drought, came early in Somalia this year, arriving in March and April rather than May...
26 Apr 2023
Unseasonal heatwave and drought in Spain
The Spanish Meteorological Agency AEMET forecast a heatwave towards the end of April, with temperatures reaching 36-38⁰C. In some areas, the temperature was 10-15⁰C above average for this period of the year. On the 8th of May, AEMET reported that April 2023 was the hottest April experienced by the country since records began in 1961...