California braces for a dry ‘La Niña’ next fall

California hoped the El Niño weather phenomenon would bring much-needed rain and snow to the parched state. In the midst of a four-year drought, Californian officials, businesses and residents have been anxiously awaiting a wet and soggy winter. Weather predictions have raised new fears. La Niña, the drier version of El Niño, is expected next fall and with it, the possibility of drier weather patterns.

Read more here: Dry La Niña might follow soggy El Niño

Experts recommend policy changes to improve state water crisis

Nevada is entering its fifth year of drought. Over the last year, experts – dubbed the Nevada Drought Forum – have analyzed the water crisis and have offered recommendations to improve the state’s policies surrounding water management.

The recommendations included educating the public on the importance of conservation efforts, continued research on state water data and developing a long-term plan for water recycling and drought management.

Read more here: New drought report could be state water-policy road map

Evacuation may be necessary if water crisis continues

In India, experts warn that some regions may need to be evacuated by 2025 due to the severity of the ongoing water crisis. Groundwater is depleting at an alarming rate. With increased population in urban settings, the need for fresh water is growing without the infrastructure to support the growth.

Read more here: Bengaluru may have to be evacuated in a decade if water crisis persists

Increase in world crises anticipated in 2016

El Nino is predicted to trigger world crises in 2016. An article from Reuters identifies regions of the world that will be greatly affected by the weather phenomenon.

The United Nations is predicting that “at least 87 million people in dozens of countries will require humanitarian aid next year, and is seeking a record $20.1 billion to meet their needs.”

Read more here: Syria to South Sudan: aid groups list their top humanitarian concerns for 2016

Technology provides villagers with local water source

Residents of Polapan, a remote village located in the Gujarat state of India, have been given unprecedented access to fresh water. The women and children of the village once spent hours each day searching for and collecting water from distant water sources (rivers, streams, wells,etc.).

Technology changed that. The Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) installed a single pump to provide villagers with an immediate source of fresh water – accessible 24 hours a day. The one caveat to the fresh water pump is the availability of electricity, which is not a consistent resource in these remote areas.

Read more here: Water at doorstep: A scheme ushers change in lives of Sabarkantha tribal villagers

Villages block highway to protest inadequate water supply

‘Give us enough water’ was the rallying cry for villagers who blocked a highway in the Indian village of Surajkaradi to protest the village’s dwindling water supply. The village’s main source of water, Narmada water, has not delivered water for the last two weeks. A lack of rainfall has left groundwater sources dry, leaving villagers dependent on alternative sources like Narmada.

Read more here: Villagers block highway, seek adequate water supply

Lake temps rising at alarming rates

According to research by NASA and the National Science Foundation, the water temperature in fresh water lakes is rising at alarming rates. It’s a sign that climate change may be posing a greater effect on freshwater ecosystems than previously thought.

Read more here: Lakes temps rising globally, faster than air or oceans

The costs of Peru’s farming boom – From The Desert Sun

ICA, Peru – The fight began early one morning on a sandy dirt road between fields of lima beans, where farmers discovered an excavator machine digging a trench for a water pipe. Infuriated that the pipe would carry water pumped from beneath their farms, a crowd gathered and drove away the crew of workers in a fit of shouts.

Then the protesters set fire to the plastic pipes, leaving them charred and warped on the side of the road.

As tensions rose in the days after that confrontation, threats flew between the protesters and a group of men sent by the company that was laying the pipes. Some of the men wielded wooden clubs, a machete and a baseball bat. Some of the protesters faced criminal charges.

Read more here: The costs of Peru’s farming boom