Climate Change, Population Increase Fuel Looming Water Crisis: Report

Geneva: Water-related hazards like floods and droughts are increasing because of climate change, according to a new multy-agency report.
 
According to the report, the number of people suffering water stress is expected to soar, exacerbated by population increase and dwindling availability.
 
Moreover, management, monitoring, forecasting and early warnings are fragmented and inadequate, whilst global climate finance efforts are insufficient.

The State of Climate Services 2021: Water highlights the need for urgent action to improve cooperative water management, embrace integrated water and climate policies and scale up investment in this precious commodity which underpins all the international goals on sustainable development, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
 
"Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and regional precipitation changes, leading to shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, with a major impact on food security and human health and well-being," said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas in a press release on Tuesday.
 
"This past year has seen a continuation of extreme, water-related events. Across Asia, extreme rainfall caused massive flooding in Japan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and India. Millions of people were displaced, and hundreds were killed. But it is not just in the developing world that flooding has led to major disruption. Catastrophic flooding in Europe led to hundreds of deaths and widespread damage," he said.
 
According to figures cited in the report, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water at least one month per year in 2018. By 2050, this is expected to rise to more than five billion.
 
In the past 20 years, terrestrial water storage – the summation of all water on the land surface and in the subsurface, including soil moisture, snow and ice – has dropped at a rate of 1cm per year. The biggest losses are occurring in Antarctica and Greenland, but many highly populated lower latitude locations are experiencing significant water losses in areas that are traditionally providing water supply, with major ramifications for water security.
 
The situation is worsening by the fact that only 0.5% of water on Earth is useable and available freshwater.
 
Water-related hazards have increased in frequency over the past 20 years. Since 2000, flood-related disasters have risen by 134% compared with the two previous decades. Most of the flood-related deaths and economic losses were recorded in Asia, where end-to-end warning systems for riverine floods require strengthening.
 
The number and duration of droughts also increased by 29% over this same period. Most drought-related deaths occurred in Africa, indicating a need for stronger end-to-end warning systems for drought in that region.
 
"Lack of water continues to be a major cause of concern for many nations, especially in Africa. More than two billion people live in water-stressed countries and suffer lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation," he told the official high-level launch event.
 
"We need to wake up to the looming water crisis," said Prof. Taalas.
 
The report was coordinated by WMO and contains input from more than 20 international organizations, development agencies and scientific institutions.
 
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