In 2018, Cape Town came close to running out of water. Now Corpus Christi, Texas, might be the next city to do the same thing. In the 21st century, water supply and sanitation is a key function of urban government. Cities account for 80% of global GDP and 90% of private sector job creation. They are also legally and politically weak. They generally lack fiscal capacity and authority to regulate many of the most quintessential municipal affairs.
Weekly digital edition of SPIEGEL includes e-paper (PDF), digital archive and S+ newsletter. Free access to all S+ articles on SPIEGel.de and in the app (e-paper, digital archive, and newsletter). For more information, visit the website.
There was a deadly flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas last year because of climate change. Over the last month, the US has experienced record rainfall, causing flash flooding across the country. Some government officials are not investing enough money and political capital to upgrade infrastructure and restrict where people can build to accommodate the wetter normal.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead's combined storage is lowest since May 1957. Colorado River supplies nearly 40 million people across seven Western states with water from the Colorado River. Policymakers in charge of the river are not doing enough to curb demand for water. Negotiations among the states that use the river have been stuck at an impasse for months.
Ranjan Panda is a social ecologist, journalist and researcher. He has spent more than three decades working on water conservation and climate advocacy with communities in Odisha, eastern India. He is part of several global networks working on climate issues and is the founder and mentor of a budding organization called Youth4Water.
The Guadalupe River in Texas rose above the height of a two-story house in just five hours on Thursday, sending a rush of water through a region still weary from last summer’s fatal flash floods. The dangerous flooding for a second consecutive year set off dozens of high-water rescues, washed out roads and killed at least one person, authorities said. Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit counties in Texas over three days.
Jackeline Mendoza Díaz, an Indigenous leader from Peru, spoke at a webinar on the impact of illegal and poorly regulated gold mining on Indigenous lands, forests and local communities. The webinar brought together community leaders, investigators, civil society organisations, financial experts and policymakers to discuss the growing crisis of illicit gold.
This year's El Niño is expected to be one of the strongest in history, according to some models. The current El Niño forecast is more intense than the one in 2023 and 2024. It's still too early to predict the true nature of the El Niño, but experts warn it could bring extreme weather.
Climate change makes compound disasters more likely. The scale-back of federal resources means "a lot of pressure" on state and local governments to manage complex crises on their own. The US is not as well prepared as it was a few years ago, according to Jeffrey Schlegelmilch of Columbia University.
In 2018, Cape Town came close to running out of water. Now Corpus Christi, Texas, might be the next city to do the same thing. In the 21st century, water supply and sanitation is a key function of urban government. Cities account for 80% of global GDP and 90% of private sector job creation. They are also legally and politically weak. They generally lack fiscal capacity and authority to regulate many of the most quintessential municipal affairs.
Weekly digital edition of SPIEGEL includes e-paper (PDF), digital archive and S+ newsletter. Free access to all S+ articles on SPIEGel.de and in the app (e-paper, digital archive, and newsletter). For more information, visit the website.
There was a deadly flooding at Camp Mystic in Texas last year because of climate change. Over the last month, the US has experienced record rainfall, causing flash flooding across the country. Some government officials are not investing enough money and political capital to upgrade infrastructure and restrict where people can build to accommodate the wetter normal.
Lake Powell and Lake Mead's combined storage is lowest since May 1957. Colorado River supplies nearly 40 million people across seven Western states with water from the Colorado River. Policymakers in charge of the river are not doing enough to curb demand for water. Negotiations among the states that use the river have been stuck at an impasse for months.
Ranjan Panda is a social ecologist, journalist and researcher. He has spent more than three decades working on water conservation and climate advocacy with communities in Odisha, eastern India. He is part of several global networks working on climate issues and is the founder and mentor of a budding organization called Youth4Water.
The Guadalupe River in Texas rose above the height of a two-story house in just five hours on Thursday, sending a rush of water through a region still weary from last summer’s fatal flash floods. The dangerous flooding for a second consecutive year set off dozens of high-water rescues, washed out roads and killed at least one person, authorities said. Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit counties in Texas over three days.
Jackeline Mendoza Díaz, an Indigenous leader from Peru, spoke at a webinar on the impact of illegal and poorly regulated gold mining on Indigenous lands, forests and local communities. The webinar brought together community leaders, investigators, civil society organisations, financial experts and policymakers to discuss the growing crisis of illicit gold.
This year's El Niño is expected to be one of the strongest in history, according to some models. The current El Niño forecast is more intense than the one in 2023 and 2024. It's still too early to predict the true nature of the El Niño, but experts warn it could bring extreme weather.
Climate change makes compound disasters more likely. The scale-back of federal resources means "a lot of pressure" on state and local governments to manage complex crises on their own. The US is not as well prepared as it was a few years ago, according to Jeffrey Schlegelmilch of Columbia University.