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2 weeks ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
India has pledged to break a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan, promising to cut off Indus River flows into the latter nation in the coming months. Lead mining in Myanmar has boomed since the country’s 2021 coup, with rivers and streams enduring harsh pollution as a result. In the high plateaus of Bolivia, where both drought and deluges have discouraged many from taking up farming, two ancient crops have shown they can withstand harsh weather.
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3 weeks ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Heavy, deadly rain and snow fell last week on Italy and Switzerland, swelling several rivers and disrupting travel through multiple regions. Villagers in northern Colombia’s wetlands have long endured salty rivers and fish die-offs as a result of development — now, they are advocating for change. New York winegrowers contending with climate change fear their efforts to operate more sustainably — to improve soil health and water quality — will soon lose funding.
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3 weeks ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Drought is imminent in the Netherlands, researchers say, as groundwater reserves and major rivers are much emptier compared to years past. Snowfall in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region this year was down significantly, a change with wide-reaching effects on several major Asian river basins. Louisiana, home to the largest area of America’s coastal wetlands, is at risk from oil development that threatens to harm waterways and release stored carbon.
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2 months ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Torrential rains caused deadly flooding and extensive damage in eastern Spain at the end of October 2024. Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey Landsat 8/NASAIn an effort to revive England’s freshwater ecosystems, it will soon be legal — for the first time in centuries — to release beavers into the nation’s waters. A multibillion-dollar potassium mining project southeast of Manaus, Brazil, is being challenged by an Indigenous community for its potential to harm Amazonian rivers and lakes.
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2 months ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
In Jakarta, sinking due to groundwater withdrawals and urban growth, lies Lake Pluit, which is below sea level. The district around the lake was inundated by historic flooding in 2007. Photo J. Carl Ganter/Circle of BlueIn a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the EPA’s ability to limit sewage discharge by wastewater permit holders. El Paso, Texas, has broken ground on a new purification facility that aims to convert 10 million gallons of wastewater into drinking water, each day.
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2 months ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Murray-Darling watershed. Photo J. Carl Ganter/Circle of BlueA historically dry Australian summer has left thousands of residents dependent upon water deliveries, which are taking weeks or months to arrive amid high demand. Without any operating landfills, the accumulation of waste in Gaza is wreaking havoc on freshwater sources and human health. A new law in the United Kingdom aims to hold private water companies accountable for their ongoing pollution of the country’s streams, rivers, and lakes.
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2 months ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Many regions in India are facing a groundwater emergency triggered in part by thirsty industries, intensely irrigated agriculture, and hydrological mismanagement. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of BlueLast year’s record-breaking wildfire season in Bolivia is having lasting effects on water supplies, health, and farming industries. A cholera outbreak in southern Sudan has killed dozens of people over just three days, after a water supply facility was damaged by militants.
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2 months ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Rainstorms sweep across Toronto in June 2024. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of BlueThe amount of water glaciers are losing each year this century would satisfy the world’s water needs for three decades, according to a new study. The rate of dam removals in the American Northeast has increased in the past several years, reopening thousands of river miles and improving water quality. In India, leaders at the world’s largest religious gathering are promoting water and environmental sustainability.
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2 months ago | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Harlan, a riverside town in eastern Kentucky, has witnessed many floods. Photo © Brett Walton/Circle of BlueDevastating flooding in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and West Virginia has killed 13 people as heavy rainfall continues to force rescues, evacuations, and road closures. Sydney, Australia, will invest $32 billion over the next 15 years to improve its wastewater treatment and sewage system. In Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, a rise in ecotourism is also increasing local plastic pollution.
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Feb 13, 2025 | 
circleofblue.org | Christian Thorsberg
Photo caption: Children collecting water in December 2023, in Khan Younis city, south of the Gaza Strip. Photo © UNICEF/UNI485724/El BabaGrowers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, are combating extreme heat and food insecurity by maintaining a greenbelt around the capital. Torrential rains fell on Sydney, Australia, earlier this week, as more than 20 people were rescued from their vehicles.
