Intense droughts and extreme floods, which become more frequent over time, are a “taste” of the developments to come, such as climate change makes the water cycle more irregular, warned the UN.
The rivers registered their level last year dry unprecedented in 33 years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO, WMO, WMO), a UN agency.
“In the context of climate change, water gives us a glimpse of the developments to come”, expresses her concern in a statement, the general secretary of the WPC, Celeste Saulo. “The warning signs are multiplying: we are witnessing a wave of extreme rains, floods and droughts, which are having a major impact on lives, ecosystems and economies”, he observes.
As 2023 was the hottest on record, rising temperatures and a general decline in rainfall contributed to prolonged droughts.
However, floods multiplied: extreme hydrological events were favored not only by natural climatic factors, namely the transition from La Niña conditions to an El Niño episode in mid-2023, but also by human-induced climate change, says the WMO.
“The increase in temperature accelerated the hydrological cycle, which also became more erratic and less predictable”, explains Saulo.
Increasingly difficult situations
The consequences are multiple: “A warmer atmosphere that can contain more humidity, the increase in climate temperature increases the risk of heavy rains” while “at the same time, the acceleration of evaporation and the drying of the soil worsen droughts”.
Consequently, “we face increasingly difficult situations in which water is either too abundant or too scarce”.
Currently, 3.6 billion people have inadequate access to water at least one month a year, and their number is expected to exceed 5 billion by 2050, according to the UN. The report shows that the waters of around 50% of the world’s rivers were below normal last year.
Glaciers are also at the forefront of climate warming: according to preliminary data for the period from September 2022 to August 2023, they lost more than 600 gigatons of water, the worst loss in 50 years of observations.
“Melting ice and glaciers threatens the long-term water security of millions of people. However, we are not taking the urgent measures that are necessary”, warns the PMO secretary general.
Alarm now
The agency calls for early warning for everyone to protect water-related lives and livelihoods, and calls for better knowledge and data sharing about water resources.
“We cannot manage a problem if we do not measure its extent”, emphasizes Saulo.
Source: RES-MPE