The Stream, June 9: Deadly Heat Waves On Rise In India, Compounded By Limited Water Access

The Global Rundown

A rising number of deadly heat waves in India will hit poor communities especially hard due to their limited access to clean drinking water and other resources, researchers found. The cholera outbreak in Yemen is an “epidemic of an unprecedented scale,” according to the United Nations. Officials estimate that floods, droughts, and other disasters linked to climate change cost Russia up to $1 billion each year. Drinking water systems serving 15 million people in the United States are contaminated with perfluorochemicals, a new report found. Ontario will dramatically increase the price bottled water companies pay for groundwater this year. A water expert in Thailand called on farmers across Southeast Asia to implement new water management plans to adapt to climate change and rising demand.

“Yemen is in the grip of a severe cholera epidemic of an unprecedented scale. Malnourished children and women, people living with other chronic health conditions and households that do not have enough to eat are now at greater risk of death as they face the ‘triple threat’ of conflict, famine and cholera.” –Excerpt from a report released by the United Nations’ humanitarian office. More than 100,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the country since April 27. (Reuters)

By The Numbers

15 million people Number in the United States served by drinking water systems contaminated by PFOA and PFOS chemicals, according to a report released by the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University. The chemicals, used in nonstick coatings, have been linked to certain cancers. Detroit Free Press

In context: The same chemical formula that made perfluorinated compounds useful also turned them into an enduring and persistent hazard to public health and the environment.

$530 million to $1 billion Estimated annual cost of climate change in Russia, where researchers have warned of an increasing risk from floods and droughts. Reuters

$503.71 per million liters New price for groundwater that bottled water companies in Ontario will begin paying on August 1, more than 135 times higher than the current rate, according to the provincial government. CBC News

Science, Studies, And Reports

The number of heat waves that kill at least 100 people has risen almost 150 percent in India over the past 50 years, and more deaths are set to occur under future climate change scenarios, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine. They also noted that inadequate access to drinking water, electricity, and shelter will make India’s poor especially vulnerable to increased heat waves. Reuters

On The Radar

The director of Thailand’s Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute called on farmers across Southeast Asia to utilize smartphone technology and implement local projects to better manage their water supplies. He said stronger droughts and floods caused by climate change, as well as rising demand, will put new pressure on water resources. Bangkok Post