The Stream, August 29: Arctic Ice Reaches Record Low

With a few weeks still left in the annual melt season, Arctic sea ice cover has already diminished to the lowest area on record, covering 4.10 million square kilometers (1.58 million square miles), AlertNet reported.

Hurricane Isaac, which made landfall near New Orleans yesterday night, could dredge up as much as 1 million barrels of oil from the BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill and impact coastal marshes, Bloomberg News reported.

This NPR report investigates the appearance of methane gas in some Pennsylvania water supplies, and whether or not the events are linked to hydraulic fracturing.

Gaza needs urgent upgrades to its water supply, energy infrastructure, sanitation and education services in order to be a “liveable” place by 2020, according to a new United Nations report, Reuters reported. A growing population coupled with the Israeli blockade have put stress on living conditions in the region.

Poyang Lake, China’s largest freshwater lake, is in dire condition as changing rainfall patterns and human activity cause water levels to drop, Xinhua reported.

Serbia is struggling to cope with an extreme drought that has sparked fires and destroyed crops, Aljazeera reported. A heat wave has also contributed to the devastation.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek