Water

This report presents new evidence to advance understanding on how rainfall shocks coupled with water scarcity, impacts farms, firms, and families. On farms, the largest consumers of water in the world, impacts are channeled from declining yields to

From August 2017 to January 2018, Kashmir suffered an unprecedented drought, but some farmers were not affected by it. In Panzinara, a vegetable growing belt near the Himalayan state’s summer capital Srinagar, Javed Ahmad and his fellow farmers have dug up deep ponds that serve them whenever they have to irrigate their vegetable patches.

The Power and Energy Ministry has decided to introduce ‘Artificial Rains’ for the first time in Sri Lanka with technical support from the Bureau of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation (BRRAA) of Thailand. The first artificial rain project will be carried out in the catchment basins of the four major reservoirs namely Castlereagh, Victoria, Kotmale and Mausakelle.

The business case in stormwater mitigation and maintenance is to reduce the cost of pumping and treating water, and the potential impacts of flooding. Effective stormwater management strategies can have a positive return on investment on these very real

A new initiative combines satellite remote sensing data with ground observations to assess and predict the risk of cholera outbreaks in vulnerable populations in Bangladesh. Project findings and results are being used to map unsafe water sources, prepare warnings related to water quality, and predict the potential of natural disasters.

The Chinese government has now adopted sponge cities as an urban planning and eco-city template to cope with monsoonal rain. The designs use soft material and terraces to capture water which can then be extracted for use, rather than the usual concrete and steel materials which do not absorb water.

Parched cities should do more to get wetter and cooler, according to a report published on Tuesday by Arup, a design and engineering consultancy. Rather than relying on air-conditioning and traditional urban planning methods, cities should take innovative steps to cool down, such as changing building orientations or planting more greenery.

This report contains ideas and case studies from around the world that showcase best practices in sustainable design for arid cities. At the heart of the report sit three key recommendations to shape the next century of city building in arid regions:

• L