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In Eswatini, the southern African country which lost a prime minister to Covid-19 in December and where most people have no access to hot water, handwashing – a key weapon in the fight against the pandemic – has been a problem.No government health clinic in the kingdom, formerly known as Swaziland, had hot running w...

As the search for water in Bulawayo becomes more desperate, diarrhoea outbreaks from dirty water are endangering childrenIt is 6am on a Saturday and residents of Sizinda, a poor suburb in Bulawayo, have begun their desperate hunt for water. The taps at home dried up three months ago.Water has become a daily struggle in Zimbabwe’s second biggest city, largely the result of a severe...

The Guapinol community, on the country’s north coast, has become militarized in an effort to defend the river that supplies itGabriela Sorto has not seen or spoken to her father in six months, since the Honduran government’s draconian Covid-19 measures banned most travel and prison visits.Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, a 48-year-old builder and farm worker, is one of eight protesters held in pretrial detention since...

Number of glacial lakes rose by 53% in 1990-2018 to reveal impact of increased meltwaterGlacial lakes have grown rapidly around the world in recent decades, according to satellite images that reveal the impact of increased meltwater draining off retreating glaciers.Scientists analysed more than quarter of a million satellite images to assess how lakes formed by melting glaciers have been affected by global heating and...

Egypt fears hydroelectric project will restrict limited waters on which its population dependsEthiopia has allowed a controversial dam built across the headwaters of the Nile to fill with rain water, raising tensions with Egypt and Sudan.The huge hydroelectric project on the Blue Nile, known as the Grand Renaissance dam, is at the centre of Ethiopia’s plan to become Africa’s biggest power exporter, but Egypt...

Report calls for urgent action to tackle developing countries’ reliance on bottled waterFocusing on improving the water supply in developing nations could be a powerful way to fight the scourge of plastic waste in the oceans, experts have said, highlighting that the issue has received little attention.People in developing countries, and many middle-income countries, often rely on plastic bottles of water as their piped...

Despite Egypt’s fears of ‘hydro hegemony’ and concerns it will worsen water shortages in Sudan, Ethiopia’s controversial dam project is close to fruitionFrom his office in central Khartoum, Ahmed al-Mufti prepares every day for what he believes is the water war to come.This conviction led Mufti, a prominent human rights lawyer and water expert, to quit the Sudanese delegation that is negotiating Nile water...

On World Water Day, the UN says conservation is a ‘virtuous circle’ in the fight against global heatingUsing water more efficiently in everything from daily life to agriculture and industry would help reduce planet-warming emissions and curb climate change – a potential benefit that has yet to be widely recognised.In a report issued on World Water Day on Sunday, UN agencies said global warming...

Scheme provides clean water and helps foster trust between indigenous groupsRomelia Mendúa was handing out plantain drinks served in aluminium bowls. Guests were seated in a hammock and on the bare wooden floor. Beyond the window was the lush vegetation of Ecuador’s north-eastern Amazon.Chocula, as the drink is called, is made by mashing plantains into water, and is a common refreshment in the Amazon....

Three years of water shortages in Eswatini have disproportionately affected the HIV-positive community. The founder of a local support group in Lubombo is empowering others to look after themselvesAll photographs by Nyani Quarmyne, WaterAid Continue reading...

Unpublished report claims water from contaminated reservoir leaves 3 million in Zimbabwe’s capital at risk of disease Water being pumped to millions of residents in Zimbabwe’s capital city came from reservoirs contaminated by dangerous toxins, according to a report seen by the Guardian.A study conducted by South African company Nanotech Water Solutions concluded that the health of 3 million Harare residents may be endangered...

Tension over water scarcity is increasing across the globe. A new system flags up where this threatens to erupt into violenceResearchers from six organisations have developed an early warning system to help predict potential water conflicts as violence associated with water surges globally.The Dutch government-funded Water, Peace and Security (WPS) global early warning tool, which was presented to the UN security council before it...

A pioneering irrigation project in North Darfur is bringing people together again In the arid lands that have seen one of the most brutal wars of the 21st century so far, green shoots of peace may finally be appearing. In the hot Darfur fields farmed by Adam Ali Mohammed, these green shoots are alternating rows of lentils and melons.“We tried lentils before, but there...

Rising demand and climate crisis threaten entire mountain ecosystem, say scientistsA quarter of the world’s population are at risk of water supply problems as mountain glaciers, snow-packs and alpine lakes are run down by global heating and rising demand, according to an international study.The first inventory of high-altitude sources finds the Indus is the most important and vulnerable “water tower” due to run-off from...

Authorities seek to build desalination plant in drought-stricken area sitting on top of a vast reservoir of salty waterAuthorities in Kenya’s driest region are in talks with a Saudi investor to build a desalination plant, after hopes of finding drinking water from an aquifer were dashed.Tito Ochieng, the director of water services in Turkana, in the north of the country, said the potential investor...

With the country’s major cities set to run out of groundwater in 2020, volunteers are helping to conserve precious suppliesDrenched in perspiration on a muggy Sunday afternoon in New Delhi, Ashia Saifi climbs up and down the stairs of apartment buildings, ringing on doorbells and asking if residents have any leaking taps they want fixed.Sometimes, the door is slammed shut in her face. People...

Climate emergency and population growth blamed for deteriorating water quality, with ‘cocktail of chemicals’ changing as countries become richerThe planet is facing a mounting and “invisible” water pollution crisis, according to a hard-hitting World Bank report, which claims the issue is responsible for a one-third reduction in potential economic growth in the most heavily affected areas.The study, which assembled the world’s largest database of...

New Mexico tops the list, followed by California, Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska as problem could intensify with global heatingA handful of US states – including New Mexico and California – are facing significant strains on their water supplies that will only intensify with global heating, according to new rankings. Related: Extreme water stress affects a quarter of the world's population, say experts Continue reading...