The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has predicted a water crisis for humanity. Global warming, combined with inefficient water management around the world and a lack of emergency warning systems, will make floods and droughts more dangerous for humans. This conclusion was reached by experts in their report.
In addition to WMO, the study involved 20 international organizations and research centers. They found that in a couple of decades, more and more people will not have enough drinking water – by 2050, there will be more than five billion of them on the planet. In 2018, 3.6 billion people had difficulty accessing water.
According to experts, the world will suffer not only from drought – in some areas; precipitation concentrations will continue to increase. WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas recalled that heavy rains in Asia in 2020 led to floods in Japan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and India, killing hundreds and forcing millions to move from the devastated areas. In 2021, natural disasters also killed hundreds of Europeans and caused serious damage to infrastructure.
The WMO estimates that more than 300,000 people have died from the floods and more than 700,000 from the drought and food shortages caused by it. Scientists believe that the number of disasters and their victims can be reduced if more money is urgently spent on water management in the world. A rich economy must help developing countries to create robust disaster warning systems: floods in Asian countries and droughts in African countries.
Currently, 107 states are experiencing water safety problems and, according to the study, will not be able to solve them until 2030. “About 60 percent of national meteorological and hydrological services do not have the necessary capacity to overcome the climate crisis successfully,” the report said. The WMO President noted that the worst situation was in Central Asia, Africa and the island states.
Earlier, WMO found that over the past 50 years, the number of deadly natural disasters has increased 5 times. More than two million people have died in natural disasters in half a century. The economic damage from disasters has also increased, from $ 175.4 billion in the 1970s to $ 1.38 trillion in 2010, and total losses over half a century have reached $ 3.64 trillion.