Rivers drying up, glaciers melting, droughts continuing… Something is no longer going right in the water cycle. However, according to the Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Celeste Saulo, these natural disasters linked to water are only “a foretaste of the developments to come”.
“The warning signals are increasing: we are witnessing an exacerbation of extreme precipitation, floods and droughts, which are taking a heavy toll on lives, ecosystems and economies,” observes the head of the water agency. UN. “The rise in temperature has accelerated the hydrological cycle, which has also become more irregular and less predictable,” she explains, on the occasion of the publication of the new report on the state of global water resources.
2023, record year
With 2023 being the hottest year on record, high temperatures and widespread low precipitation have contributed to prolonged droughts. According to this document, the world’s rivers reached their lowest level in 33 years last year. The report shows that the flow of about 50% of the world’s rivers was below normal last year.
For the second year in a row, every region of the world with glaciers reported ice loss. According to preliminary data for the period from September 2022 to August 2023, they lost more than 600 gigatons of water, representing the worst loss in 50 years of observation. “Melting ice and glaciers threaten the long-term water security of millions of people. However, we are not taking the urgent measures that are necessary,” said the WMO Secretary General.
At the same time, floods have increased on the planet, favored not only by natural climatic factors, but also by human-caused climate change. The consequences are multiple. “A warmer atmosphere can contain more humidity, global warming increases the risk of heavy precipitation” while “at the same time, the acceleration of evaporation and the drying of soils aggravate droughts”, underlines the WMO.
Too much, or too little
As a result, “we are faced with increasingly difficult situations, where water is either too abundant or insufficient.” Currently, 3.6 billion people have insufficient access to water for at least one month per year and their number is expected to exceed 5 billion by 2050, according to the UN. The organization calls for early warnings for all to protect water-related lives and livelihoods, and calls for improved knowledge and data sharing on water resources.
The organization calls for early warnings for all to protect water-related lives and livelihoods, and calls for improved knowledge and data sharing on water resources. “We cannot manage a problem if we do not measure its magnitude,” says Celeste Saulo.
With AFP
