Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Satellite images show 10 places where water is disappearing globally
Caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations, desertification
is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas. A
drought is a prolonged period of unusually dry weather with very little or no
rain over an extended period. Both slowly impact ecosystems, agriculture, and
water supplies. To raise public awareness about desertification and drought and
promote action to restore degraded land, the UN marked June 17 as the World Day
to Combat Desertification and Drought three decades ago. Over the period,
however, the world has lost a significant amount of freshwater. The South Aral Sea in
northwestern Uzbekistan and Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran have both shrunk by
more than 90%, exposing the former lakebed. Lake Mead, the US’s largest reservoir
on the Colorado River, has shown a dramatic decline due to prolonged drought,
rising temperatures, and excess water usage. Also, lakes in Africa and South
America, and South America’s second-longest river, have shown drastic
shrinkage. As the world’s population increases and temperatures rise, more
water is needed for drinking, farming, and industry. Will we then depend more
on recycled or desalinated water instead of fresh water?
Read the article and learn how seriously desertification has shrunk the water supply and flow around the world.
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