water

UN Warns of Increasingly Erratic Global Water Cycle

Climate change is spurring increasingly erratic and extreme swings between deluge and drought across the world, the United Nations warned on Thursday. The UN's World Meteorological Organization said in a report that the world's water cycle was becoming ever more unpredictable, with shrinking glaciers, droughts, unbalanced river basins, and severe ...

Water Shortages Plague Beirut as Low Rainfall Compounds Woes

People are buying water by the truckload in Beirut as the state supply faces its worst shortages in years, with the leaky public sector struggling after record-low rainfall and local wells running dry. "State water used to come every other day, now it's every three days," said Rima al-Sabaa, 50, rinsing dishes carefully in Burj al-Baranjeh, in ...

Heatwave Hits Water, Electricity Supplies Across Much of Iran

A severe heatwave sweeping Iran has disrupted water and electricity supplies in much of the country, with reservoir levels dropping to their lowest point in a century, state media said Tuesday. At least 18 of the country's 31 provinces -- including Tehran -- have been affected by the extreme temperatures, which began on Friday and expected to ...

Lebanon Launches National Campaign to Combat Water Shortage

In response to an alarming drop in rainfall and a looming summer water crisis, Lebanon’s Ministry of Energy and Water has launched a national campaign on Friday to encourage water conservation and raise public awareness. The initiative seeks to rally citizens around smarter water usage as the country faces one of its driest years in recent ...

Iraq's Faces Lowest Water Reserves in 80 Years

Iraq's water reserves are at their lowest in 80 years after a dry rainy season, a government official said Sunday, as its share from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers shrinks. Water is a major issue in the country of 46 million people undergoing a serious environmental crisis because of climate change, drought, rising temperatures and declining ...

Lebanon Seeks World Bank Loans to Boost Energy, Water Sectors

Lebanon is advancing efforts to tackle its energy and water crises by activating two major loans from the World Bank. Finance Minister Yassine Jaber announced that the Council of Ministers has approved Decree No. 217, tied to a $250 million loan to develop renewable energy and strengthen the national power grid. The project, prepared on an urgent ...

Himalayan Snow at 23-Year Low, Threatening 2 Billion People

Snowfall in Asia's Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday. The Hindu Kush-Himalayan range, which stretches from Afghanistan to Myanmar, holds the largest reserves of ice and snow outside the Arctic and ...

Reusable Water Bottles: Breeding Grounds for Bacteria?

Proper hydration, eco-awareness and sleek design – in many parts of the world, reusable water bottles are everywhere. Whether made of stainless steel, glass or durable plastic, they’ve become a fixture in backpacks, on desks and in gyms. Since the rise of zero-waste movements and growing environmental consciousness – still, unfortunately, ...