Impact of rainfall variability on groundwater levels in Ruiru municipality, Kenya

Water-Energy-Food Accessibility and Tracking Progress towards Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in the Savannah Region of Katsina State, Nigeria

Although remarkable progress has been achieved in reducing hunger and poverty and improving people’s health in the past couple of decades, humanity still faces considerable socio-economic and sustainability challenges. Ensuring sustainable access to safe and sufficient water, improved sanitation facilities, clean energy sources and healthy food is a necessary requirement for ending hunger and poverty, advancing health and achieving all the goals of the sustainable development agenda. Socio-economic variables are determinant factors of water, energy and food accessibility. Ecological region, income and education are measures used in this study, which aims to examine a pairwise comparison of water and energy sources, sanitation facilities and food accessibilities in six sampling communities and tracking progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals (SDG) at a local scale using nine specific SDG indicators. A study involving questionnaire administration covering 1785 households across the three ecological regions of Katsina state was performed. Two communities representing urban and rural households from each of the ecological regions were selected. An analysis of variance was used to test the equality of resource accessibility across the investigated communities followed up by a post hoc analysis to identify significant mean groups. The results showed that the overall access level to safely manage water and sanitation facilities were 16.5% and 28.1%, respectively. Access indices of 1.83 and 1.24 for electricity and cooking fuel, respectively, were calculated in the study area. The study revealed that location, education and income are the key drivers of water, energy and food access and choice.

A positive perspective during COVID-19 related to groundwater crisis

The months from March to June refer as water crisis months in many places of India, because in these months of summer generally, Indian people face shortage of water. In the summer season, groundwater level decreases due to high temperature and increased evaporation of water in most of the places. This present discussion is focused on one positive aspect during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is related to rainfall during this summer in India. It has been observed that the rainfall in India in the months of March to May (as of now, on May 18, 2020) is high as compared to previous years and it might increase the groundwater level and people of India would not face a water crisis during this summer.

A positive perspective during COVID-19 related to groundwater crisis

The months from March to June refer as water crisis months in many places of India, because in these months of summer generally, Indian people face shortage of water. In the summer season, groundwater level decreases due to high temperature and increased evaporation of water in most of the places. This present discussion is focused on one positive aspect during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is related to rainfall during this summer in India. It has been observed that the rainfall in India in the months of March to May (as of now, on May 18, 2020) is high as compared to previous years and it might increase the groundwater level and people of India would not face a water crisis during this summer.

Seasonal and Annual Rainfall Variability and Their Impact on Rural Water Supply Services in the Wami River Basin, Tanzania

In some parts of Africa, rainfall variability has resulted in widespread droughts and floods, thus posing a substantial challenge to water availability in rural areas, especially drinking water. Therefore, due to increasing water demands, increases in the population, and economic development, water supply systems are under constant stress. One of the critical uncertainties surrounding the effects of rainfall variability in Africa is the significant impact that it imposes on rural water supply services. The present study analyzes the trends in annual and seasonal rainfall time series in the Wami River Basin to see if there have been any significant changes in the patterns during the period 1983–2017 and how they affect the access to water supply services in rural areas. The study analyzes the trends of rainfall series of three stations using simple regression, Mann–Kendal Test and Sen’s Slope Estimator. The water point mapping datasets were analyzed considering seasonal variation. The analysis showed a statistically significant positive trend in annual rainfall at Kongwa and March–April–May (MAM) seasonal rainfall at Dakawa. The maximum increase in annual rainfall occurred at Kongwa (5.3 mm year−1) and for MAM seasonal data at Dakawa (4.1 mm year−1). Water points were found to be significantly affected by seasonal changes, both in terms of availability and quality of water. There also exists a strong relationship between rural water services and seasons.