Trapped sediment robs dams of storage capacity. Storage loss by 2050 will equal the combined yearly water use of Canada, China, France, India and Indonesia, says a U.N. University report.
As if climate change and population growth across many parts of the globe were not enough to push fresh water supplies to the limit, the United Nations says that many large lakes are filling so fast with sediment that they are losing much of their capacity to store water.
Some 50,000 large dams worldwide are being robbed of as much as 19% of their combined original storage capacity, and total losses could reach 28% by mid-century, according to a U.N. University report on Wednesday.
'Minutes to midnight': World hits 1.4° of post-industrial warming as climate summit in Dubai opens with new loss and damage fund and report disputing a leader's credibility.
An internal audit found a US$31 million funding gap and deficiencies in U.N. Climate Change's Transparency Division.
Emissions must decrease 42% by 2030 to keep the 1.5° target alive. Instead, they're expected to rise 3% by then.
Heat-trapping gases keep collecting in the atmosphere at a record rate, the U.N. weather agency found.
'Minutes to midnight': World hits 1.4° of post-industrial warming as climate summit in Dubai opens with new loss and damage fund and report disputing a leader's credibility.
Almost a quarter of the world faces human-induced drought, and 85% of those live in low- or middle-income countries.
A handful of fossil fuel producing countries, petrochemical industries and lobbyists show no interest in a strong, restrictive and legally binding instrument.
An internal audit found a US$31 million funding gap and deficiencies in U.N. Climate Change's Transparency Division.
