An earthquake struck New Zealand’s on Wednesday evening as residents of the North Island begin the clean up process after Cyclone Gabrielle left the country. Tremors were felt from lower North Island to the upper South Island, with GeoNet upgrading its initial 6.1 magnitude assessment to a magnitude of 6.3. It struck at a depth…

Water use in Metro Vancouver is much higher, while reservoir levels are lower than normal, prompting the regional district to ask millions of residents and businesses to conserve. A statement from the regional district of Metro Vancouver says water use is up by 20 percent for this time of year because of the extended dry,…

Thousands of dead fish, a prolonged wildfire season and intense water shortages leading to ice rink closures are all symptoms of record-setting drought in parts of British Columbia. The Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and West Vancouver Island areas are experiencing Level 5 drought conditions—the most severe in the province’s classification scale, which the B.C. government’s…

The Nunavut government has declared a two-week state of emergency over a water shortage in Iqaluit. Joanna Quassa, the acting minister of community and government services, says it’s meant to ensure the city can get necessary regulatory approvals to immediately begin replenishing its reservoir. The city declared its own state of emergency last week due…

The Italian government has declared a state of emergency in five of its northern regions that are facing their worst drought in seven decades. The state of emergency is applicable in Piedmont, Friuli-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, and Veneto until Dec. 31. The government has announced 36.5 million euros ($39.5 million) in funds to help tackle…

Southern California’s water supplier on Tuesday asked about 6 million people to limit their outdoor watering to one day a week amid a water shortage emergency owing to the ongoing drought. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the largest supplier of treated water in the United States, asked residents in parts of Los…

LOS ANGELES—Candidates vying for a seat on Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors debated key environmental policy issues as the primary elections for county supervisors draw closer. On March 24, candidates for LA County Supervisor District 3—which spans from the Westlake Village to the San Fernando Valley to West Hollywood—participated in a debate hosted by…

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia—Nearly 31 percent of the world’s fresh water supply is in Latin America, which endures perilous scarcity in some areas due to decades of mismanagement, rapid population growth, privatization, and negligent agricultural practices. There is enough water to meet the needs of the world’s population, yet its distribution is unequal. Also, much has…

News Analysis The Biden administration’s move to revisit a 2019 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation biological opinion that had relaxed restrictions on water access in California has drawn the ire of state and national Republicans, who issued a statement claiming that “California Democrats and the Biden administration now want to deprive [Californians] of water supplies.” Yet as…

California’s hydroelectric power plant at Lake Oroville was ordered to shut down on Aug. 5 after the reservoir reached record low water supply levels.   It’s the first time the Hyatt Power Plant has been offline as a result of low water levels, Department of Water Resources (DWR) Director Karla Nemeth said.   “This is just one…