While much of Canada has been facing devastating floods, several parts of the world -- from Texas to France and China -- are dealing with severe droughts. We get the latest on the situation and what's behind these global weather patterns.

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Today's guest host was Tom Harrington.

Part One of The Current

Satire

It's Thursday, May 19th.

Bev Oda is returning to her cabinet post as Minister of International Cooperation.

Currently, this is not a 'not' joke.

This is The Current.

Severe Droughts

Canadians have been facing devastating -- even historic -- floods over the last few weeks. But much of the world is dealing with a very different problem. Much of Europe is in the grip of a drought so severe that France's Environment Minister describes her country as being in a state of crisis.

In China, five months of drought have reduced the Yangtze River to near record lows, affecting shipping, agriculture, drinking water supplies and hydroelectric power production. And while the Mississippi River is over-flowing its banks and spilling floodwater into Louisiana, just a little further west, most of Texas is in a state of extreme or exceptional drought.

In the last three months, the city of Houston has had as much rain as the Sahara Desert. For more on this global spate of drought, we were joined by Mark Svoboda. He's a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska, where he runs the drought monitoring program. Mark Svoboda was in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Last week, some Texas farmers and ranchers did see some slight relief with a tiny amount of rain, but it was too little, too late. Texas hasn't had a decent rainfall in months and the state is being ravaged by monster wildfires. Dale Smith is a rancher in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.

About one fifth of France is facing severe water restrictions. And that's hurting farmers. France is Europe's top grain producer and there are fears that crops will fail. Karen Serres has a sheep farm in the south of France. She also represents women farmers at the National Farmers Union. She was in Paris this morning.

Related Links:

• France in crisis as drought deepens: minister - Reuters
• French Farmers Face Worsening Drought; Northern Soil Is Driest in 50 Years By Rudy Ruitenberg - Bloomberg
• Texas cotton producers facing dustbowl-like conditions By Paul Hollis - Delta Farm Press
• Central China Hit by Drought, as Reservoirs Become 'Dead Water' By Edward Wong - New York Times
• Water in short supply in parts of eastern China - CNN
• Yangtze River closure not expected to affect Vancouver shippings to China By Brian Morton - Vancouver Sun
• U.N. Food Agency Issues Warning on China Drought By Keith Bradsher -
  New York Times

Other segments from today's show:

• Headache Disorders
• Letters: Mistakes, Bear Encounters & Fires