Countries across the world are currently experiencing extreme weather and droughts. The largest freshwater lake in China is at its lowest water levels for years thanks to a drought, according to state officials and media. The shrinking lake does not bode well for fishermen who rely on it for their livelihoods and for the local ecology.

The Xinhua news agency stated that Poyang Lake, located in East China’s Jiangxi province, is shrinking quickly and has experienced over a decade-long dry spell. This is due to the Gan River, which is connected to the lake, not receiving enough rain and causing the water levels to hit record lows. “This year’s level is very low,” an anonymous official declared, affirming that the rainfall for the area was 65 percent less than average for December.

Texas is also experiencing its worst drought on record. The year 2011 was the driest ever for the state, says the National Weather Service, and it was the second hottest. Meteorologists do not believe this will improve for the year 2012 and the result will be further restrictions on water and the death of millions of trees. Lake Lavon has shrunk by 12 feet due to North Texas’ lack of rain and record-setting heat. “It is a challenging time, especially to bring awareness to our consumers and businesses how critical our drought has impacted our reservoirs,” stated Denise Hickey, spokesperson for the North Texas Municipal Water District. “As we’re planning to move through this drought period, we’re also planning and initiating additional strategies to bring additional sources online.” The Texas Forest Service believes that so far, the severe drought has killed 500 million trees.

In Latin America, nations have also been dealing with a plethora of problems stemming from the extreme weather, including wildfires, droughts, and floods. Many have wondered if climate change and global warming are responsible for the unusual weather and according to experts, this is most likely the case. Chile experienced an uncharacteristic heat wave, which resulted in rampant burning wildfires, while Northern Mexico has been dealing with its worst drought in 70 years.

On the other hand, Colombia has had two seasons of heavy rain, which has killed 182 people and resulted in about $2 billion in damage. A rose farm in a Colombian town named Chia sustained an estimated $6 million dollars in damages from the April and December floods. Javier Castellanos, the rose farm manager, stated, “Never in the history of this farm- and it’s a business with 30 years in the market- have we ever had any such problem.” Researchers assert that Latin America is at more risk to the extreme weather changes worsening in the future than any other region in the world because of deforestation and its sprawling construction. These elements cause it to be more vulnerable to landslides and flooding.

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As heavy wind and rain is still generated by Hurricane Irene, more than a million homes and businesses are without power or phone service today Sunday. And as the storm moves closer, outage are expected to increase in the region.

According to the Washington Post, more than 30,000 Pepco customers had lost power by 9PM on Saturday. A Pepco spokesman declined to say if the numbers had been expected but he did tell the Washington Post that amid criticism of the company’s reliability, he would agreed that the storm will prove “a major test for the company.”

It was expected that the worst of Hurricane Irene was going to hit the American capital between Saturday night and Sunday Morning. Associated Press reported that the residents of Washington was just about to pull themselves together after the earthquake earlier in the week when this new force of nature came knocking. Forecasts expected several inches of rain and wind of up to 60 mph including possible flash flooding.

The consequences of the storm will prove a major test to the capital’s disaster preparation.   “I don’t think Washington is equipped for a big storm or evacuation or anything like that,” Melvin Holloway, a retired District of Columbia water department employee told AP on Saturday. “There’s just no communication.”

One of the issues is the possibility of flooding but as the city has failed to renovate the flood-control system in time, the city must turn to sandbags in order to protect important buildings – not to mention people’s own homes.

AP reports that hundreds were lining up for up to two hours to collect sandbags for their homes. Around 15,000 bags were handed out in two days. “They should have done it earlier,” said one Tina Harris, 36, who had waited an hour and a half on Saturday afternoon.

In New York, the city has been bracing itself for worst case scenario and while the New York Stock Exchange is hoping to open on Monday, Hurricane Irene has the final say according to Reuter’s report. Given the pressure on the American market, investors may be a little anxious – and with good reason, as they rely on the NYSE to open for business. Since the marketplace, including the NYSE, is mostly automated, it is mainly a matter of reliable power. Unless there is a major outage, electronic trading will continue as normal.

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