Tag - water

 
 

WATER

A child holds a water container in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 31, 2024
Destruction of Gaza water wells deepens Palestinian misery
The Israeli military did not respond to the allegations that its soldiers had torched the wells.
Experts are advising students to drink plenty of water, as a survey revealed more than half of them are not sufficiently hydrated during the day.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2024
Over half of students in Japan are not well hydrated, study finds
Urine osmolality, which goes up as water intake declines, was at levels considered to indicate insufficient hydration.
The government has a provisional target of keeping PFAS levels in tap water at 50 nanograms or lower per liter.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 24, 2024
Government instigates nationwide survey on PFAS in Japan's tap water
Some 12,000 water providers have been given until the end of September to report on potential water contamination with PFAS.
A Ground Self-Defense Force member welcomes a local resident at a bathing facility set up on the grounds of an elementary school serving as an evacuation shelter in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2024
Noto mission becomes SDF's longest quake response project
The record 175-day mission has highlighted the time-consuming work of restoring water supplies and sewerage systems.
An Israeli tank maneuvers inside the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Gaza's environment was already suffering from recurring conflicts, rapid urban growth, and high population density, before the most recent conflict began on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Society
Jun 18, 2024
Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage, U.N. says
Water, sanitation, and hygiene systems are now almost entirely defunct, the report found, with Gaza's five wastewater treatment plants shut down.
Snow and ice on the Himalayas are a crucial water source for around 240 million people in the mountainous regions, as well as for another 1.65 billion people in the river valleys below.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 17, 2024
Low snow on the Himalayas threatens water security
Millions of people dependent on snowmelt for water face a "very serious" risk of shortages this year after one of the lowest rates of snowfall.
Water tanks used to cultivate seaweed on land by Three Lines in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 3, 2024
Poor seaweed harvest prompts Kyushu University team to look toward land
The team has found some success with on-land farming, although increasing production yields for commercialization remains a challenge.
Hiroaki Okano, a resident in the town of Uchinada, Ishikawa Prefecture, explains how his home shifted sideways by about a meter as a result of the 7.6-magnitude quake that hit Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 2, 2024
Liquefaction-hit Ishikawa town's future unclear, five months after quake
Around 3,500 cases of liquefaction damage from the 7.6 magnitude quake that struck the Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1 have been confirmed.
Work is underway to restore water supply pipes in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in February.
JAPAN / FOCUS
May 16, 2024
Japan centralizes water supply and sewage administration
The infrastructure ministry aims to advance integrated initiatives covering both water supply and sewage systems in addressing aging infrastructure.
The U.S. military’s Kawakami Ammunition Depot in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. High levels of PFAS have been detected in well water around the facility.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 15, 2024
U.S.-Japan pact hampers PFAS survey at U.S. facility in Hiroshima
The bilateral Status of Forces Agreement gives exclusive authority to the U.S. forces over the management of their facilities in Japan.
3M’s Cottage Grove, Minnesota factory had been churning out varieties of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS since the 1950s.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 9, 2024
PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ pervasive in water worldwide, study finds
The study of over 45,000 water samples worldwide found that about 31% of groundwater had levels of the chemicals considered harmful to human health.
People wait to collect drinking water on March 14 amid an ongoing water crisis in Bengaluru, which has been hit by drought.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024
India’s most innovative cities are running out of water
Drought is crippling India's tech hubs of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, casting a dark shadow on these cities' attractiveness in the era of climate change.
Children wash their hands with a new public pump installed as part of a climate resilient water system in Inn Chey in Kratie Province.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Mar 31, 2024
Japan sits at the forefront of climate resilient infrastructure in Southeast Asia
Japanese businesses and government agencies are pouring billions of yen into various programs across Cambodia and Southeast Asia to reduce climate risks.
The Monrovia NSU Challenger bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through the Cocoli Locks of the Panama Canal in April 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 22, 2024
'We all need water': Panama's canal, and people, thirst for more
A severe drought last year caused water levels in Gatun Lake, which provides drinking water and is the main reservoir for the canal, to fall.
Mercian's vineyard in Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2024
Major Japanese beverage groups focusing more on sustainability
Initiatives have diversified to include water source preservation as well as winery tours under the theme of the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2024
Noto quake highlights aging water systems in depopulating areas
Nearly 22,000 homes in Ishikawa Prefecture are still without water, and the shortage has sparked debate on how to maintain services in depopulating areas.
Noboru Ito (left) uses well water for a makeshift shower at his Real Hair Cutting You beauty salon in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 24.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 30, 2024
Businesses in quake-hit Japanese city tap well water to reopen
Their return to operations helps restore a sense of normalcy among residents.
Residents receive water in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2024
Japan struggling to make water pipes quake-proof
In Ishikawa Prefecture, where a massive quake struck on New Year's Day, over 50,000 homes are still without water.
Columbia University researchers have found that on average, bottled water contain 110,000 to 370,000 tiny plastic particles in each liter, 90% of them nanoplastics.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jan 9, 2024
Bottled water has more plastic particles than previously thought
The discovery of nanoplastics, which could not be detected until recently, suggests that health concerns linked to plastic pollution may be dramatically underestimated.
Kotaro Seki, CEO of Ellange, in front of the truck that he uses to collect nets from fisheries
JAPAN / Society / OUR PLANET
Jan 7, 2024
Trash into treasure: Can fishing net waste be the future of fashion?
A pair of Japanese startups are looking to solve a problem for the nation's fisheries: What to do with old fishing nets.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past