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Archive for June, 2013
Global warming may increase daily variability of India’s monsoon rainfall: study
Posted by International Business Times: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
International Business Times: The findings have been revealed at a time when floods have killed more than 550 people and destroyed unaccounted properties in North India.
Scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany used a comprehensive set of 20 state-of-the-art climate models to predict the extent of weather changes in the wake of global warming.
The models consistently show that future global warming might increase the daily variability of Indian monsoon rainfall. According to Anders...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Global warming may increase daily variability of India’s monsoon rainfall: studyIowa: Recent flood and drought signal what’s to come, scientists and officials say
Posted by Press-Citizen: Josh O’Leary on June 22nd, 2013
Press-Citizen: Given the choice between a drought or flooding, Johnson County farmer Russ Meade would take his chances with swampy fields any year.
“Psychologically, a drought affects you a lot worse because you’re seeing things slowly die,” said Meade, who helps run his family’s 720-acre corn, soybean and cattle farm near Tiffin.
The past two growing seasons, though, Meade has faced both extremes. Last summer, his crops wilted during the fifth-driest summer on record in Iowa. That was followed by the wettest...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Iowa: Recent flood and drought signal what’s to come, scientists and officials sayCanada: Severe flooding a sign of future weather woes, UW researcher says
Posted by Record: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
Record: Extreme rainfall and flooding in Alberta could result in one of the most costly natural disasters in Canadian history -- and it may not be an isolated event.
Flooding in southern Alberta that occurred in 2005 was then considered a one-in-100-years disaster, yet the heavy rains this week that have led to flooding in Banff, Canmore, Calgary and south toward Lethbridge have caused more widespread damage than the previous event.
According to Jason Thistlethwaite, director of the Climate Change...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Canada: Severe flooding a sign of future weather woes, UW researcher saysIndia’s ‘climate refugees’ flee monsoon flooding
Posted by Le Monde: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
Le Monde: In 2012, out of the millions of people displaced by natural disasters around the world, over a quarter were from northeast India. Almost nine million inhabitants were forced to flee the region's devastating monsoon.
These forced displacements are a common occurrence. Floods have become so routine in Assam, a state located at the foothills of the Himalayas, irrigated by one of the world's mightiest river -- the Brahmaputra -- that a special administrative post was created to deal with natural disasters....
Study: Eight out of 10 Pinoys affected by climate change
Posted by GMA News: Rouchelle R. Dinglasan on June 22nd, 2013
GMA News: A World Bank-commissioned study revealed that eight out of 10 Filipinos "personally experienced' the impacts of climate change in the last three years. The study conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) disclosed that 85 percent of respondents claimed to have suffered from climate change. Of this figure, more than half or 54 percent described their experience as "severe' to "moderate.' "The percentage of those who personally experienced climate change impacts are highest in urban areas (90...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Study: Eight out of 10 Pinoys affected by climate changeFlooding Kills Hundreds in Northern India
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on June 22nd, 2013
Reuters: Flash floods and landslides unleashed by early monsoon rains have killed at least 560 people in northern India and left tens of thousands missing, officials said on Saturday, with the death toll expected to rise significantly. Houses and small apartment blocks on the banks of the Ganges, India’s longest river, have toppled into the rushing, swollen waters and been swept away with cars and trucks. “It has been a horrifying experience,” said Tulika Srivastava, a visitor from the northern Indian city...
Saving South African Rhinos Injured While Poaching
Posted by Nature World News: None Given on June 22nd, 2013
Nature World News: UK researchers are developing treatment options for rhinos injured while poaching.
Rhinos are highly valued for their horns due to high demand in Asian markets. Rhino horns are powdered to make medicines that are used to treat fever, convulsions and strokes.
Rhino poaching is a lucrative trade in South Africa where organized groups of poachers kill many rhinos every year. In 2012, about 668 rhino were killed in South Africa. 2013 saw an increase of 49 percent with 203 rhino deaths in just the...
Alberta floods driven by climate change
Posted by Vancouver Observer: Mike Soron on June 22nd, 2013
Vancouver Observer: Early Thursday morning, my dad texted me to say he fled his home in Canmore, Alberta shortly before the town declared a state of emergency. By noon, my brother was told to evacuate his home in Calgary’s Mission District, near the Elbow River.
Later, friends near the Calgary Stampede grounds were told to leave their apartment, bringing enough supplies for a week away. As the day went on text messages, and Facebook and Twitter updates chronicled a province in chaos. I watched their videos and updates,...
Indonesia fights fires, faces ire as smog blankets Singapore
Posted by Reuters: John O'Callaghan and Chris Nusatya on June 22nd, 2013
Reuters: Air quality in Singapore improved significantly to "moderate" pollution levels on Saturday, as Indonesian planes waterbombed raging forest fires and investigators scrambled to determine the cause of one of Southeast Asia's worst air pollution crises. Indonesia's environment minister said eight domestic firms were suspected of being responsible for the blazes on Sumatra island that blanketed neighboring Singapore in record levels of hazardous smog. The parent companies of the Indonesian firms included...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Indonesia fights fires, faces ire as smog blankets SingaporeCrews break ground on largest California dam removal
Posted by Reuters: Laila Kearney on June 22nd, 2013
Reuters: Demolition crews on Friday began work on the biggest dam removal in California, a project aimed at protecting homes threatened by the aging, obsolete structure and restoring spawning grounds for native trout. Plans call for the 94-year-old San Clemente Dam, built on the Carmel River about 120 miles south of San Francisco, to be torn down in stages over three years, followed by rerouting of the river around the dam site and wildlife restoration. "In 10 years, when you come to the site, you won't...