Shifting Gears and How!

Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink...

World Resources Institute (USA) listed down the seven most alarming drought conditions reported in the past decade (as of 2015) and interestingly, not a single region of the world was spared! 

Here is the list for you!

1. The Millennium drought of Australia (1995 - 2009) - worst in a thousand years. It cost 4.5 Billion Dollars for the government to tide over, putting up desalination plants for main cities and recycling grey water for rest of the country.

Just when the govt and people thought they 'managed' to hang on well, an once in a fifty year flood swamped the country and took away another 10 Billion dollars as mitigation cost.

2. Spain - 2008 - the drought was so severe, Spain resorted to getting shiploads of water from France!

3. India - Between 2002 and 2008, we lost about 100 plus Cubic Kilometers of Ground Water. NASA satellites picked this up and only then we came to know about this crisis (Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi Belt)!

In 2012, half of India lost power (literally!) due to massive grid failure. Reason - lack of rain - lack of water at Hydro stations plus distressed farmers using more power to draw water from deeper and deeper crevices!

Image from WRI website

4. China - 2006 - worst drought in 50 years...and worsening rapidly due to exploitation of natural resources at an alarming rate. 

5. Syria - 2006 - 2011 - Second only to the Indian drought - worst in the recorded history of Syria.

6. Brazil - South East Brazil experienced its worst drought in 84 years with reservoir levels hugging the bottom line...

7. USA - California, Los Angels and more - Drought, four years in a row!

8. Switzerland - Alps without snow for the past four years! (Of Course, the savvy Swiss ensure that skiers are able to do their bit by 'farming' snow and dumping it in the slopes to create the ski run! 

(8th is a bonus that I added for you!)

So, we the living, worldly wise and crafty manipulators of nature, have learnt our lessons big time from these, dramatically amended our ways forever towards a saner way of living and the result is TELLING!

Global drought map - as of Oct 2016

Global warming or not, the water situation around the world is something we ALL must be alarmed but none seem to be bothered (we seem to have given up on our planet long ago and are focusing our energies looking for water in Mars, Pluto, and elsewhere)...

We are happily shifting gears while nature is watching us NOT SO KINDLY anymore.

If a Cambrian explosion caused a sudden spurt in life in Earth 65 million years ago (read my post Cambrian Explosion), an 
un-Cambrian implosion 'engineered' by us may well be possible within a relatively short while. 

Till then, enjoy the ride!