Barges float in the Mississippi River as a portion of the riverbed is exposed, on September 15, 2023, in St Louis
LAST year was the driest in more than three decades for the world’s rivers, a United Nations weather agency has reported.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) also said glaciers that feed rivers in many countries suffered the largest loss of mass in the last five decades, warning that melting ice can threaten long-term water security for millions of people globally.
Global temperatures last year were around 2.1° Fahrenheit (1.2° Celsius) above the average baseline period (1951-1980) used for the measurement by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration — making it the hottest on record.
MARK SEDDON tries to cool off in the countryside to avoid the heatwaves but the greed and incompetence of the privatised water industry is now at boiling point
Extreme heat is now one of the defining public health challenges of a warming world, explains Prof IAN WILLIAMS