droughts News

Isaac Brings Relief to U.S. Drought Conditions

The remnants of Hurricane Isaac continue to cause headaches on Friday, bringing heavy rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to the lower Mississippi Valley as Gulf Coast residents get ready to start their cleanup efforts. The first hurricane to …

El Nino Seen Having ‘Modest Impact’ on Australia

An emerging El Nino weather pattern is likely to have only a modest impact on crops and mining in Australia and could benefit sugar cane growers in Queensland, a senior forecaster said. Drier conditions have already settled in over much …

Climate Change Poses Risks to Food Supplies Beyond U.S. Drought

Downpours and heat waves caused by climate change could disrupt food supplies from the fields to the supermarkets, raising the risk of more price spikes such as this year’s leap triggered by drought in the United States. Food security experts …

Evidence for Climate Extremes, Costs, Gets More Local

Scientists are finding evidence that man-made climate change has raised the risks of individual weather events, such as floods or heat waves, marking a big step towards pinpointing local costs and ways to adapt to freak conditions. “We’re seeing a …

Heat Waves Need ‘Re-purposed’ Climate Research: Reuters Gerard Wynn

A major heat wave and drought has sent world grain prices sky rocketing for a second of three summers suggesting it is time to address supply through re-purposed climate research. Tackling high food prices among the leading G20 nations has …

El Nino Indicators Ease; Still Expected in Late 2012

Climate indicators for an El Niño event in the western Pacific have eased slightly in the past two weeks, but meteorologists still expect the weather pattern, which can bring drought to the Asia-Pacific and damage crops, to form late in …

Weather Forecasters Say El Nino Could Return in Q3

The feared El Nino weather phenomenon could strike as early as the third quarter of 2012, raising prospects of wreaking weather havoc from North and South America to Asia, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said on Thursday. “Overall, the …

Lloyd’s Details ‘Growing Impact of Climate Change’ as UN Meets

Lloyd’s has published a roundup of the environmental issues inherent in as the world grows warmer. The recently concluded Rio +20 Conference was an attempt – 20 years after the first conference – “to try to reach agreement on sustainable …

U.S. Intelligence Report Sees Global Water Conflict Risks Rising

Fresh water supplies are unlikely to keep up with global demand by 2040, increasing political instability, hobbling economic growth and endangering world food markets, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment released on Thursday. The report by the office of the …

Insurers Worry 2012 Will Top 2011 for Record Weather Disasters

From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be like, insurers and weather prediction agencies …