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Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Mon 18 Apr 2016, 01:16:54
by WildRose
dohboi wrote:Thanks for the info, WR. Are you officially in drought conditions up there, or just dry? Is there a good drought map for Canada, that you know of, that gets updated regularly?


Here's something you can peruse. Look at the drought intensity map, the arrow is at July 2015. Edmonton and rest of central Alberta, actually most of Alberta, was in severe to extreme drought conditions. If you push the arrow on the map to the far right you will see current conditions, which so far are in the abnormally dry to moderate drought range. Which doesn't seem that bad until you consider that we are into an early, warm spring with very little moisture from a winter with not much snow. Unless patterns really change and we get lots of rain in the next couple of months, we appear to be heading for conditions at least as bad or worse than 2015.

http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/?id=1430766471261

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Mon 18 Apr 2016, 06:00:28
by dohboi
Thanks for the link, WR. And best wishes in an uncertain future.

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Thu 21 Apr 2016, 19:10:24
by onlooker
This is the type of story that is tragically sad, but that is the world we live in now. Drought in South Africa . http://www.theguardian.com/global-devel ... i-zimbabwe

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 26 Apr 2016, 08:18:52
by dohboi
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/i ... 54102.html

India drought: Millions without steady water supply

Region in western Maharashtra state reels under worst drought in decades as wells dry up and heatwave worsens

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 26 Apr 2016, 14:34:20
by dohboi
http://phys.org/news/2016-04-extreme-we ... llion.html

Extreme weather and armed conflicts have put 240 million people under food stress

Back to India:

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles ... /down-farm

In 2014, nearly 12,400 Indian farmers committed suicide

http://ow.ly/4n5At7

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Fri 29 Apr 2016, 20:02:41
by dohboi
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/a ... ds-drought

Obama declares disaster as Marshall Islands suffers worst-ever drought

And on the continent, we now have nearly coast to coast abnormally dry or drought conditions, with just a couple hundred miles of break in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys.

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

Long-range forecasts show some relief possible for the Utah-CO-WY region and for the SE coast areas. But then drought sets in in the SW and then stretches right across the country's southern tier and creeps up the East Coast.

Image

Things might get...interesting.

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Mon 02 May 2016, 23:48:18
by dohboi
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/m ... ps-country

Armed guards at India's dams as drought grips country


India is officially in the grip of its worst water crisis in years, with the government saying that about 330 million people, or a quarter of the population, are suffering from drought after the last two monsoons failed.

“Water is more precious than gold in this area,” Purshotam Sirohi, who was hired by the local municipality to protect the dam, in Tikamgarh district, told AFP.

“We are protecting the dam round the clock.”

India is officially in the grip of its worst water crisis in years, with the government saying that about 330 million people, or a quarter of the population, are suffering from drought after the last two monsoons failed.

But the security measures cannot stop the drought from ravaging the dam, with officials saying it holds just one month of reserves.

Four reservoirs in Madhya Pradesh have already dried up, leaving more than a million people with inadequate water and forcing authorities to bring in supplies using trucks.

Almost a 100,000 residents in Tikamgarh get piped water for just two hours every fourth day, while municipal authorities have ordered new bore wells to be dug to meet demand.

But it may not be enough, with officials saying the groundwater level has receded more than 100 feet (30 metres) owing to less than half the average annual rainfall in the past few years.

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Sat 14 May 2016, 15:02:20
by dohboi


India – Climate change drought forces judicial to weigh on the side of food distribution.

SC directs 12 drought-hit states to immediately rush free food


NEW DELHI: L
aw or no law, the right to food is a constitutional one, the Supreme Court said on Friday, directing 12 drought-hit states to immediately rush free food grains and other subsidised items such as dal and edible oil to all those in the affected areas.

The states were also directed not to discontinue their mid-day meals in schools during the summer vacations. “No one can doubt that children are the future of our country and if there is some stinginess in providing them with adequate nutrition, the country as a whole is deprived in future of taking the benefit of their potential,” Justices Madan B Lokur and NV Ramanna observed.



http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 262686.cms

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Thu 19 May 2016, 13:34:54
by dohboi
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/south_afri ... -327792861

As Drought Grips South Africa,
A Conflict Over Water and Coal


Facing one of the worst droughts in memory, South Africa’s leaders have doubled down on their support of the water-intensive coal industry. But clean energy advocates say the smartest move would be to back the country’s burgeoning wind and solar power sectors.

The drought, the most extreme in South Africa since the start of the 20th century, shattered the fragile equilibrium between the agricultural and coal sectors.

Pitched street clashes between farmers and police, who back the coal interests, have broken out south of Musina, where Coal Africa proposes to build a $406 million mine in an area where some of the country’s most productive vegetable farms operate. The mine would consume 1 million gallons of water a day, according to company disclosures. Both the mine and neighboring irrigated farms are dependent on the Nzhelele River, which has dwindled to a shallow stream.

Higher temperatures and diminished rainfall, which many scientists attribute to climate change are wreaking havoc in two of South Africa’s largest economic sectors — agriculture and energy. Yet in the face of this growing crisis, South Africa’s leaders continue to display unyielding allegiance to the nation’s water-guzzling coal sector

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Thu 19 May 2016, 13:42:31
by dohboi
Meanwhile, back stateside, not much change in the drought situations. A bit dryer in Oregon, Alabama and the Black Hills area, and a bit less dry in Missouri is all I see. Oh, and parts of inland northern CA and north Nevada and Utah--much needed relief there!

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndDa ... rison.aspx

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndDa ... eMaps.aspx

The forcasts are still predicting a hotter than usual summer throughout the 48, then a colder than usual winter for most of us up in the northern tier. And starting in the fall, a long term drying out is still predicted for most of the southern tier of the states. http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Supplemen ... casts.aspx

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Fri 20 May 2016, 12:40:30
by jedrider
Lake Mead at lowest level EVER. <200 feet to dead pool level. States are agreeing to cut back usage, though.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Nation/2016/05/19/Lake-Mead-shrinks-to-record-low-amid-ongoing-Western-drought-Colorado-River-reservoir-expected-to-keep-shrinking.html

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Thu 26 May 2016, 17:08:55
by Plantagenet
Cuba is suffering from a serious drought. Much like Florida the swamps in Cuba are drying out and agriculture is doing even worse then usual.

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Fri 27 May 2016, 17:39:02
by dohboi
Thanks for the heads up on that situation, P. Are you there now?

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Mon 30 May 2016, 23:29:49
by dohboi
It looks like the Drumpf may have been looking at a few too many of pstarr's posts here! :-D :-D

Trump Denies CA Drought

http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronom ... ornia.html

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 31 May 2016, 00:25:34
by dohboi
Glad to hear you share my low estimation of the short fingered imp.

Rest well, sweet p.

We resume on the morrow! :-D

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 31 May 2016, 12:30:57
by jedrider
Good article on Lake Mead and how Arizona Nevada and California will deal with it:

http://www.vox.com/2016/5/23/11736340/l ... -southwest

They are lifting water restrictions in Northern California, but I am wondering how wise that is?

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 31 May 2016, 14:45:54
by dohboi
"I never denied the fact of anthropogenic global warming"

Glad to hear it. My my, we're agreeing on all sorts of things, today! :)

It would be nice to think that one major problem (PO) would solve another. And I know other smart people that also think along your lines. But they also don't tend to bother about learning the minutia of GW, and, as they day, the devil is indeed in the details.

And yes, there will be plenty of pain and death from all of the above. As we spiral down, I expect things to get so chaotic, that probably no one will be able to ever figure out exactly what all the prime causes where, much less what exactly was the precise chain of events that lead up the crash (or series of crashes).

One might say that this is one of the 'privileges' we can now still enjoy--the privilege to speculate about and debate exactly what set of conditions are most quickly and most utterly going to obliterate us.

We've go to 'enjoy' that 'privilege' while we may. :)

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 31 May 2016, 15:40:51
by jedrider
pstarr wrote:I just don't believe the chance of a sudden and catastrophic runaway event is in the cards. For several reasons: one) IPCC, two) peak oil, and 3) natural mitigating negative feedback loops ie nutrient loading (C, P and N) of the biosphere.


Clearly, you are an OPTIMIST.

Trump is interesting in that he ONLY tells people what they want to hear. "Who are you going to believe? Me or your LYING eyes?"

This world is so FANTASTIC. I attribute it to chance and mathematics. I studied engineering amid talk of Murphy's Law. I still believe in it. It is the hidden statistics that say we are 'screwed'.

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Tue 07 Jun 2016, 23:09:20
by dohboi

Re: The Drought Thread Pt. 4

Unread postPosted: Sat 11 Jun 2016, 12:41:10
by dohboi
It has been a difficult summer for India.

Drought and a searing heat wave have affected an astonishing 330 million people across the country

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36339524

(Thanks to redskylite at rs's blog for this)