The risks from aging dams are of particular concern in the face of climate change. Before the disaster in Libya, extreme weather worsened by climate change was already taking its toll on these structures. The default approach has been to repair aging dams where needed, monitor reservoir levels and try to anticipate rainfall and increased flows from upstream. While some aging dams still supply drinking water and help farmers irrigate their fields, many that were built for hydropower only generate a fraction of the electricity they once did as sediment accumulates behind their walls. Deepening drought linked to climate change has also crippled hydropower generation all over the world, leading to energy rationing and blackouts in the United States, China and Brazil.

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Locations: United States, China, Libya, Oroville, India, Africa, Brazil