The Stream, May 16: Droughts and Floods

A dire drought is forcing France to set severe restrictions on farmers’ water use in 26 of the country’s 96 departmental administrative areas, Bloomberg reports.

The American South is on the opposite side of the spectrum. The opening of a major spillway to relieve flooding along the Mississippi River will channel floodwaters toward homes, farms, a wildlife refuge and a small oil refinery, but will avoid inundating New Orleans, Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge and major oil refineries in the region, Reuters reports.

The sea ice volume in Canada’s Hudson Bay will decrease 31 percent by the 2040s, triggering a fast rate of species loss and opening new access to commercial shipping and crude oil exploration, a new climate study shows.

A new series of time-lapse images of the ice on Mount Everest gives a rare inside look into Everest’s melting glaciers, Slate reports.

Arizona officials and environmentalists are up in arms over a U.S. Department of the Interior study of the risks of expanded uranium mining in the area around the Grand Canyon, UPI reports. They say the economic gain from mining does not justify the risk to the water supply in the region.

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.