UNITED NATIONS — The world’s nations achieved a U.N. goal of cutting in half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water five years ahead of the 2015 target, the United Nations announced Tuesday.

JOANNA M. FOSTER

JUSTIN GILLIS

A new scientific paper suggests that the ocean is acidifying at a rate that is many times faster than at any time in the last 300 million years.

Adam Daley

The proportion of the world’s population with access to improved drinking water sources grew by 10 percent over a period roughly covering the past two decades, according to a United Nations study released Tuesday.

Steve Connor

Scientists studying ancient mud samples taken from the bed of the Dead Sea separating Israel and Jordan have warned that the fragile political situation in the Middle East will be made worse by the intense water shortages their study is predicting.

The Status and Future of the San Diego Region’s Water Supply

THE STATUS AND FUTURE OF THE SAN DIEOO REGION'S WATER SUPPLY

LONDON, 18 November 2011 (IRIN) - It will take two centuries for sub-Saharan Africa to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, according to NGO

River and Reservoir map for San Diego

PRETORIA, 14 November 2011 (IRIN) - Soaring temperatures and erratic rains brought on by a changing climate may radically alter water flows in the world’s major river basins, including the Limpopo in southern Africa, forcing people to give up farming in some areas, says a new study.