• Water

Aquifers, 8% of Earth’s Land Area at Risk of Sinking, Flooding

• aquifer
• crops
• Drought
• water

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A first-of-its-kind study has found that in the next 20 years, 1.6 billion people will be affected by crumbling aquifers. Subsidence, the degradation of aquifers due to over-extraction of water and drought, causes the earth to cave in reducing aquifers’ ability to hold water and puts communities at risk […]

• Water

Global Warming has Pushed Western States into a “Forever Drought”

• California
• Colorado
• Drought
• snow drought

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Water experts say that worsening drought conditions across the nation may be here to stay. Extreme drought conditions in western states like Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico were once a semi-centennial occurrence, happening every 50 years. Now, these droughts are a common occurrence that disproportionately burdens low-income communities. […]

• Water

Turkey Is Praying for Rain

• climate change
• crop failure
• dams
• Drought
• Turkey
• water

Turkey is experiencing its most severe drought in a decade after critically low rainfall over the past six months. Istanbul has less than 45 days of water remaining. Ankara, the country’s capital has 110. Other cities also face limited water and depleted dams, and farmers are concerned about crop failure.

Why this Matters: Things are so bad, the imams are telling their worshipers to pray for rain.

• Water

As Colorado River Dries, New Questions about Water Management Arise

• colorado river
• Drought
• Fire
• Water Management
• water rights

For twenty years, conditions across the Colorado River Basin have worsened as temperatures rose due to climate change.  In 2020, unrelenting heat and super dry conditions left the soil extremely parched, rivers and streams running low, and reservoirs in the region well below capacity.

Why this Matters: Research suggests that the river could lose 1/4 of its flow by 2050 as the climate continues to heat up.

• Climate Change

2020 Breaks Another Record: Most Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters

• disaster
• Drought
• extreme weather
• flood
• hurricane
• severe storm
• wildfire

We know it was the hottest year on record (tied for the top spot with 2016), that the 2010’s were the hottest decade on record, and that the last 6 years have been the hottest ever.  Now this grim total:  in 2020 there were 22 weather and climate disasters.

Why This Matters:  Climate change is getting more and more expensive each year.

• Water

Sudan Suffers from Worst Flooding in Recent Memory

• Africa
• conflicts
• Drought
• Sudan

by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer In the latter half of 2020, Sudan experienced devastating flooding. By the end of September, the U.N. World Food Program country director in South Sudan said that the country needed immediate aid to avoid “catastrophic hunger” levels. Since then, nearly 1 million people have been displaced or isolated by […]