The World reports on global news in ways that reflect our shared core belief: we are all connected. Will you help us keep our reporting free for all, especially now?
The World team has covered the global pandemic with depth and humanity, but only thanks to the generous support of readers like you. Please consider a gift to The World to ensure we can continue this important service. Support The World for as little as $7 a month.
Donate Today >
No Thanks
Environment
ISIS is using water as a weapon in Iraq
The World
July 09, 2014
Iraq is in the middle of a drought. Now, the militant group ISIS has control over key dams and are using them in their bid to take over more land. Couple the insecurity with scarcer water due to climate change and you get a volatile mix that could spread unrest in the Middle East.
Culture
Why some Kenyan villagers take AK-47s to fetch water
America Abroad
August 08, 2014
On the border with South Sudan, is a Turkana village called Loblono, in Northern Kenya. These Turkana people have survived for centuries in one of the harshest landscapes on earth, the dry-as-a-bone desert that also stretches across South Sudan and Somalia. They live a nomadic lifestyle based on herding cattle, chasing the rain and the grasslands that sprout from the desert when it’s wet. The Turkana have always been in conflict with neighboring tribes, like the Poquot and the Taposas. But, in recent years, dwindling water supplies have exacerbated the conflict on this smallest of scales.
Environment
The worst droughts in 1,000 years may be on the horizon for the American West
Science Friday
February 28, 2015
Since 2011, California has been in the grip of one of the worst droughts in recent history. It's shrinking water reserves, intensifying wildfires and, so far, costing farmers billions of dollars in agricultural losses. But all of that may be just a preview of what’s to come later this century.
Environment
São Paulo residents demand their city take a new attitude about water
The World
March 13, 2015
The unprecedented water crisis in South America's largest city is leading citizens to change everything, from how they use water to how they engage with politics. But while the government is taking action, residents say it's not nearly enough.
Environment
How California is surviving its new water crisis
Science Friday
April 28, 2015
With California entering its fourth year of drought, one of the state's water managers has devised an innovative way to deal with what experts are calling the "new normal."
Environment
Agriculture is thriving in bone-dry California, and that's not a good thing
Living on Earth
May 04, 2015
Everyone in California is feeling the crunch as the state tries to cope with its massive drought, but farms aren't suffering quite as much as the rest. That's good for business, but bad for the state's dwindling water resources.
Environment
El Niño is back, and global temperature records are in danger
The World
May 13, 2015
Updated
El Niño is back. That could mean trouble for crops from Africa to Australia, drought relief for Brazil and California — and new record global temperatures as the Pacific Ocean warms up and brings the heat along with it.
Environment
Desalination is an expensive energy hog, but improvements are on the way
Ensia
May 15, 2015
Desalination — taking the salt out of seawater so humans can drink it — is becoming more important as the Earth warms and drinking water gets more scarce, but it's not a cheap or simple process. Here are some ways it might get more affordable and environmentally friendly.
Environment
We're running out of water. Is desalination the answer?
WGBH News
July 21, 2015
Desalination plants aren't just a California thing. Low groundwater levels are a problem for communities everywhere.
Environment
These Chinese cave inscriptions tell a dramatic 500-year-long story
The World
August 18, 2015
The writing in Dayu Cave explains the impact of seven different droughts between 1520 and 1920. Even today, groups come to the cave to gather water, but they're no longer allowed to write on the walls.