Death Toll Rises in Haiti Quake

Haiti’s president Ariel Henry has announced that the death toll in Saturday’s earthquake has risen to 1,419. Three days of national mourning began on Tuesday. Saturday's 7.2 magnitude quake brought down tens of thousands of buildings in the country, which is still trying to recover from the last major earthquake 11 years ago. Dozens of churches, hotels, homes and schools have been either ruined or seriously damaged. Authorities say in addition to the 1,419 fatalities, some 6,900 people have been hospitalised.

Largest Reservoir in US Drying Up

In the US, the first-ever “official shortage declaration” has been announced for the massive Western reservoir of Lake Mead. It’s triggering water cuts to vast swathes of the already-drought-stricken Southwest. The shortage means reductions in water allocations to Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico for a year. The General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, John Entsminger, says it’s a sign of climate change that people are going to have to get used to:

"We must adapt to the new reality of a warmer, drier future, where today's Colorado River hydrology is not the same hydrology this basin knew a century ago. Every community, every sector, every industry that uses Colorado River water must do more to conserve and protect this critical water resource upon which 40 million Americans depend. While the future is sobering, we are in this together. It will take all of our ingenuity, creativity and sustained effort to meet the moment. And I am confident that we can build upon the collaborative accomplishments of the past 20 years."

Lake Mead was formed in the 1930s from the damming of the Colorado River at the Nevada-Arizona border. It is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is crucial to the water supply of 25 million people in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas.

Permafrost Threatened in Russia

And, climate scientists are deeply concerned about intense wildfires raging in the Russian region of Yakutia. While the region is used to fires at this time of year, their intensity this year is threatening permafrost. When it melts, tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, and with rising global temperatures, there are doubts that the permafrost will ever freeze over again.