From Reuters, via Planet Ark:
China’s drought-prone capital must curb its rapid population growth or risk running out of water, local media reported on Thursday.
Chinese environmental officials have dubbed Beijing, host of the 2008 Olympics, the driest major city on the planet. Already a magnet for thousands of students and migrant workers from impoverished rural areas, Beijing is expected to host an extra 2.5 million people during the Games. The city’s population had grown from 13.7 million to 15.4 million in the past five years, but should be capped at 16 million in 2010 and 20 million in 2020, the Beijing News said, citing a Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission report. [Full Text]
