Latest Water shortages News

When will the power return? Weary Carolinas residents long for relief after Helene's fury

Oct. 04, 2024 19:48 PM EDT

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The weary and worn residents of Julianne Johnson's neighborhood in Asheville have been getting by without electricity since Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast last week and upended their lives. They've been cooking on propane stoves and using dry erase boards to...

In Ohio, drought and shifting weather patterns affect North America's largest native fruit

Sep. 26, 2024 10:52 AM EDT

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio (AP) — Stubborn drought in Ohio and the shifting weather patterns influenced by climate change appear to be affecting North America’s largest native fruit: the pawpaw. Avocado-sized with a taste sometimes described as a cross between a mango and...

Brazil's Lula pledges to finish paving road that experts say could worsen Amazon deforestation

Sep. 11, 2024 19:30 PM EDT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — In a visit to see the damage caused by drought and fire in the Amazon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pledged to pave a road that environmentalists and some in his own government say threatens to vastly increase destruction of the world’s largest tropical forest...

Drought is making Sao Paulo's river emerald green while smoke turns its skies grey

Sep. 10, 2024 15:58 PM EDT

SAO PAULO (AP) — A major river in the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo is suddenly emerald green and clear skies this week turned from blue to grey. In the late afternoon, the sun's rays filtering through the smoky haze exhibit the color of deep orange. This isn't a fantasy world:...

During Brazil's worst drought, wildfires rage and the Amazon River falls to a record low

Sep. 10, 2024 14:47 PM EDT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil is enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began over seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress — an area roughly half the size of the U.S. Major Amazon basin rivers are registering historic lows, and uncontrolled...

EU officials pledge to develop more water-saving technologies in farming as droughts worsen

Sep. 03, 2024 10:13 AM EDT

AYIA NAPA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials from nine southern European Union countries pledged Tuesday to work together to develop more water-saving technologies in agriculture as the prospect of worsening droughts puts additional strain on farmers and threatens food security. The promises...

Drying lakes and thirsty trees: In drought-hit Greece, water trucks are keeping crops alive

Aug. 28, 2024 03:53 AM EDT

NEA SILATA, Greece (AP) — Six weeks before harvest, there’s no water left in the ground for farmer Dimitris Papadakis’ olive grove in northern Greece, so he has started a new morning routine. Joined by his teenage son, he uses a truck to bring water from nearby areas. Using a...

Israeli evacuation orders cram Palestinians into shrinking 'humanitarian zone' where food is scarce

Aug. 24, 2024 08:05 AM EDT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Young girls screamed and elbowed each other in a crush of bodies in southern Gaza, trying desperately to reach the front of the food line. Men doled out rice and chicken as fast as they could, platefuls of the nourishment falling to the ground in the tumult. ...

Malawi receives an insurance payout of $11.2 million for El Nino-linked drought disaster

Aug. 19, 2024 21:30 PM EDT

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — The Malawian government has received an insurance payout of $11.2 million for a crippling El Nino-linked drought that led the southern African nation to declare a state of disaster earlier this year. The payout was given to Malawi this month, the African...

Water crisis in Mississippi capital developed during failures in oversight, watchdog says

Aug. 15, 2024 16:05 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — “Layers of inadequate oversight and enforcement” by state and federal agencies contributed to a water crisis in Mississippi's capital city that left tens of thousands of people without safe drinking water for weeks in 2021 and 2022, a watchdog agency says. ...