The Stream, October 31: Seven Billion and Counting

Climate change has had devastating affects on glaciers in the mountains of southwestern China, the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences warned in a report last week.

What will 7 billion people mean for the global environment? In Jordan, water is becoming increasingly scarce as more and more people demand it. The chronic shortage has caused prices to double over the last year, according to the BBC.

You’ve heard about the sprawling megacities in India and China, but some of the world’s fastest growing cities are not where you think they are.

The world needs to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change, an international panel of experts warned.

World leaders have not done enough to tackle environmental problems in the run-up to the Rio+20 conference on sustainable development, according the the head of the United Nations Environment Programme.

A pilot programme to issue municipal bonds in four Chinese provinces will complement water spending, Global Water Intelligence reported. But with many local governments awash in debt, is China’s financial system at risk?

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.