Yearbook 2011
Tuvalu. In early October, the government in Tuvalu declared disaster state due to severe drought and lack of drinking water. It had not rained properly for seven months and according to the weather forecasts, the drought would last until December. Usually, Tuvalu receives 200-400 millimeters of rain a month. The small country is dependent on storing rain for drinking water. The groundwater cannot be drunk because it is contaminated by salt water as a result of rising sea levels. According to researchers, the drought was due to the weather phenomenon of La Niña. Visit ABBREVIATIONFINDER for the acronym of TUV that stands for the country of Tuvalu.
According to Countryaah official site, Tuvalu was assisted by New Zealand and Australia who sent transport aircraft with fresh water and equipment to repair worn-out desalination plants used to salt seawater and turn it into drinking water. New desalination plants were also flown in. Australia also sent liquid reimbursement to hospitals and fuel to desalination plants. In November, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia merged and funded a new large desalination plant powered by solar energy. The plant produces 40,000 liters of water a day. The plan was to provide Tuvalu, which in recent years is often hit by drought, with a lasting solution to the fresh water problem.