Displaying items by tag: water crisis

Thirteen aid groups have warned, ‘Over 12 million people in Syria and Iraq are losing access to water, food and electricity and urgent action is needed to combat a severe water crisis.’ Rising temperatures, reduced rainfall and drought deprive people of drinking and agricultural water and are in turn disrupting electricity as dams run out of water. This impacts the operations of essential infrastructure including health facilities. Five million people in Syria directly depend on the river. In Iraq, the loss of access to water from the river, and drought, threaten seven million people. 400 square kilometres of agricultural land risk total drought. Two Syrian dams serving electricity to three million face imminent closure. Communities including displaced people in camps have witnessed a rise in outbreaks of waterborne diseases since the water shortage. Swathes of Iraqi farmland, fisheries, power production and drinking water sources are depleted of water. Wheat production is depleted by 70%.

South Africa has the worst drought in 23 years. Climate change and massive population growth are blamed for the crisis. They are extracting water from underground springs and developing wastewater treatment and better water conservation, but the crisis worsens. By November 2017 schools were urging students to bring water from home, and asking them to attend school in sports gear so that parents do not need to wash two outfits. It is expected that on 12 April taps will be turned off in the Cape Town area, leaving residents to use 200 water collection points. Commercial areas, hospitals and settlements will be exempt. The city is getting tougher on people who stockpile water and unlicensed stores selling drinkable water. A plant to turn seawater into 15 million litres of usable water every day is planned, but it is not built yet. See