Drought

Easter Islanders relied on freshwater springs under the sea to survive

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Surveys of Easter Island show that ancient settlements and the sites of the island’s famous giant statues are situated close to freshwater springs that are only accessible at low tide Environment 4 March 2022 By Michael Le Page The moai statues of Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Shutterstock/Alberto Loyo Undersea springs may have been … Read more

Australia floods: Record rainfall in Queensland driven by La Niña and climate change

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A slow-moving low-pressure system has dropped 790 millimetres of rain on Brisbane in one week, causing floods that have claimed eight lives Environment 28 February 2022 By Alice Klein A flooded street in Milton, a suburb of Brisbane PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/AFP via Getty Images Record-breaking rain on the east coast of Australia over the past week … Read more

Extreme ‘Megadrought’ Gripping The US Is Like Nothing Seen in 1,200 Years

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The megadrought that has parched the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico over the last two decades is the worst to hit the region in at least 1,200 years, researchers said Monday.   Human-caused global heating accounts for more than 40 percent of the dry spell’s intensity, they reported in the journal Nature Climate … Read more

December Fires Raise Concerns Over Remarkable Colorado Drought

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Two wildfires ignited in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies last weekend, pushing residents out of their homes and stretching the state’s fire season past its traditional endpoint. The Miner’s Candle Fire was first reported on Sunday near Idaho Springs, a city 30 miles west of Denver, and scorched roughly 20 acres. The West Ranch … Read more

Drought: Plants prioritise keeping their flowers cool during hot, dry weather

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Under heat and water stress, plants sacrifice their leaves to keep their sexual organs cool – a strategy that we could harness to protect crops from climate change   Life 10 December 2021 By Richard Kemeny A field of soya bean plants Shutterstock / kuludi In hot, dry weather, plants sacrifice their leaves to … Read more