As Europe braces for yet another heatwave this week, many of the continent’s major rivers are already running at exceptionally low levels, raising concerns that flows could slow even further before the end of the summer. Analysis by The National of data from the Copernicus European Flood Awareness System shows that river flows across much of Europe have remained well below […]
A summer of blistering heatwaves has resulted in record low water levels in Europe, curtailing river transport and drastically reducing electricity generation. Europe’s two great rivers, the Rhine and the Danube, have been seriously affected, resulting in a water-cooled nuclear power plant operating at just 10 per cent capacity and cargo being moved by rail instead. The […]
The UAE and Senegal aim to make implementation the focus of this year’s UN Water Conference, calling for faster action by governments, financial institutions and the private sector to address the worsening global water crisis, a senior Emirati official has said. The UN Water Conference, which will be held in Abu Dhabi from December 8 to […]
The world is approaching the 2030 deadline for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on water security still off-track. About 5.5 billion globally people still lack safely managed drinking water or sanitation. Water-related risks are intensifying across regions, driven by climate variability, rising demand and environmental degradation. Droughts, floods and water stress are placing growing pressure on food […]
The world is “living beyond our hydrological means”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, warning that overconsumption, pollution and climate change are pushing water supplies towards an irreversible decline. Mr Guterres made the comments while addressing ministers at the opening of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, urging governments to use […]
Global water scarcity has reached a new and potentially irreversible stage, an era of “bankruptcy” driven by decades of overuse, groundwater depletion and climate change, UN experts warned on Monday. Kaveh Madani, lead author of Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that this issue matters […]
For some 300 kilometres, groundwater flows underground between France, Germany and Switzerland. It is Europe’s largest groundwater reserve, yet a new study reveals it is heavily polluted. From Frankfurt to Basel, deep underground lies a treasure that supplies more than five million people in the region with drinking water. It is Europe’s largest groundwater reserve. […]
Some of the longest and most essential animal migrations on Earth take place beneath the surface of rivers. A major new report from the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a United Nations environmental treaty, warns that many of these migrations are now rapidly breaking down. The Global Assessment of […]
Eastern Germany’s mega complex of artificial lakes created from disused coal mines will reach a new milestone this summer. A decades-long project to transform Germany’s former coal mines into a massive lake complex will reach completion this April – creating a watery landscape almost as large as Italy’s Lake Como. Lake Sedlitz – the final […]
The heavy rains that have lashed the UAE over several days this week could offer benefits to a country where the normally arid climate makes it difficult to provide enough water. A growing population, expansion of urban areas, agriculture, landscaping and industry all put the country’s water resources under strain. In the coming days at least, wadis are […]
