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Added on the 12/11/2014 18:39:22 - Copyright : AFP EN
Protesters sing Uruguay's national anthem during an anti-government march in Montevideo over the high levels of salt in the drinking water. The country, crossed by numerous rivers, has had to resort to brackish water sources because of a drought that has lasted for more than three years. IMAGES
French communes of Velars-sur-Ouche and Montbard in the Cote-d'Or department have been placed on red alert, a warning that water levels could cause flooding in some areas. IMAGES
Water levels are rising in Vertou, with Loire-Atlantique one of four departments in western France placed on flood alert following heavy rainfall caused by Storm Louis. IMAGES
Heavy machinery moves soil at a makeshift dam while workers hoist giant pipes over mounds of earth at two construction sites in the south of Uruguay, as the South American country struggles to enhance its aging water delivery infrastructure to cope with an unprecedented three-year-long drought that has put at risk the supply of tap water for about 60% of the population. IMAGES
Aerial images of the reservoir behind Paso Severino in Uruguay. This reservoir, which normally supplies fresh water to 60 percent of the country's population, is experiencing the largest drop in water levels ever recorded. According to authorities, water levels could be completely depleted in July if it does not rain. IMAGES
Humanity has "broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater," the UN secretary-general says at the opening of the first major UN meeting on water resources in nearly half a century. "We are draining humanity's lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating," Antonio Guterres says, describing water as "a human right." SOUNDBITE