The Stream, February 7: Extreme Weather

Weather Extremes
Thousands of Australians have been forced from their homes because of floods that have risen to record levels in some areas of Queensland and New South Wales, Reuters reported. While the coal industry is largely unaffected, agriculture and properties are likely to sustain significant damage.

Bad weather has gripped much of Europe as well. A bitterly cold snap has killed hundreds of people across the continent, and melting snow caused a dam wall to break and flood an entire village in Bulgaria, according to Reuters.

Despite recent heavy rains, the water levels in Texas remain low, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Antarctica
Scary and exciting. After more than a decade of drilling, Russian scientists have now reached the top of the enigmatic Lake Vostok in Antarctica, Scientific American reported. Lying two and a half miles beneath the ice of Antarctica’s central Eastern ice sheet, the lake has been isolated from the rest of the world for millions of years.

Coal
Asia’s growing demand for coal has triggered a boom in export-facility investments on U.S. shores, according to the Dow Jones Newswires.

Asia
Jakarta’s Water Agreement is muddied by a lack of public information on water privatization, according to the human rights group Article 19.

You can see Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and India in this spectacular high-resolution image of the Earth by NASA.

Sustainability
The current GDP-based model of growth causes overconsumption, drives up commodity prices and ignores the environment, according to Europe’s climate chief.

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.