Background Articles

Iran’s worsening water crisis, described by a top United Nations environmental expert as a state of “water bankruptcy,” risks crippling the country’s infrastructure, undermining its stability, and weakening its influence internationally.

The American Red Cross of Alaska is preparing to support up to 2,000 flood evacuees through the winter in Anchorage, operating shelters as residents from hard-hit Western Alaska villages continue arriving. Evacuees describe gratitude for aid and concerns about adapting to big-city life.

Remnants of Typhoon Halong drove record storm surge and hurricane-force winds into Western Alaska, devastating Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages like Kipnuk and Kwigillingok. Officials report dozens of homes destroyed, mass rescues, widespread outages, and at least one death, with many residents sheltering and recovery efforts underway.

Retesting of private wells in Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador found more homes above the 30 ng/L PFAS limit, prompting calls for a full hydrogeological study of groundwater contamination linked to firefighting foam from St. John’s International Airport.

A UNBC study finds glaciers feeding the Slave River watershed are melting twice as fast as a decade ago, contributing to record low water levels in Northwest Territories rivers, while GNWT officials expect short-term stability from snowmelt and summer rains.

A new international study finds that Arctic glacier retreat between 2000 and 2020 has unveiled over 1,500 miles of coastline—primarily in Greenland—potentially increasing coastal hazards and contributing to sea level rise.

British Columbia’s March snowpack averaged just 79 percent of normal, up from 63 percent a year ago but still low enough to raise the province’s drought risk for spring and summer.

A Unesco report warns that unprecedented glacier melt driven by the climate crisis threatens the food and water supply for two billion people worldwide, with major impacts on irrigated agriculture and mountain communities.

A new study finds that mountain glaciers are melting at more than twice the rate observed in the early 2000s, with over 6.5 trillion tonnes of ice lost since 2000 and record losses in 2023.

Despite reduced overall ice coverage in Canada's Northwest Passage, the Arctic shipping season is shortening due to increased mobility and breakage of sea ice creating navigational hazards.

Eleven out of twenty-five communities in Nunavut have received boil water advisories in 2024 due to infrastructure and water quality issues, with efforts underway to upgrade aging systems.

Agrigento, a tourist destination in Sicily, is facing severe water shortages, leading to rationing and the turning away of tourists, impacting the local economy reliant on tourism and agriculture.

Yellowknife is using water from Yellowknife Bay to refill its reservoirs due to unusually high outflow rates at a pumphouse, the cause of which is under investigation.

Alaska's impending water quality regulations may necessitate advanced treatment for contaminants like phthalates in wastewater, posing challenges for local systems to comply with stricter EPA standards.

Rivers and streams in Alaska are changing color – from a clean, clear blue to a rusty orange – because of the toxic metals released by thawing permafrost, according to a new study.

Recent discoloration of 75 streams in Arctic Alaska reflects increased iron and trace metal loading following climate-driven permafrost thaw. These findings have considerable implications for drinking water supplies and subsistence fisheries.

The article discusses a contentious proposal for new fish passage infrastructure at the Eklutna River dam, with differing plans and potential legal challenges as stakeholders await the governor's decision.

Washington State declares a statewide drought emergency due to significantly low snowpack levels, with expectations of less than 75% of the normal water supply.

Emergency measures are in place in Kotzebue after a failure in the Swan Lake Loop left 74 households without water, prompting local and state officials to declare an emergency and take action to provide services and repair infrastructure.

Alberta's water allocation data reveals regional disparities in usage and availability, with agriculture dominating in the south and oil and gas in the north, amidst concerns of overuse and drought.