Review of the year

摘要

This was a year when those not entirely convinced that global warming was anything more than a natural temperature fluctuation began to worry. The devastating south-east Asian tsunami at the end of 2004, followed by the highest number of hurricanes ever seen since records began in 1850, gave many pause for thought. In the US, the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina continues. Southern Europe experienced drought, with Portugal and Spain rowing over sharing of their river water. Spain awarded its first desalination projects in March, having chosen to abandon the previous government's massive water transfer plan in favor of coastal desalting. Perth, in Australia, also signed a desalination agreement with Degremont, as that continent battled to combat years of water scarcity.