Geneva:
More than 5 billion people today could have difficulty accessing water in 2050, the United Nations warned Tuesday, urging leaders to seize the initiative at the COP26 summit.
Already in 2018, 3.6 billion people today had inadequate access to water for at least one month per year, mentioned a new report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
“We need to wake up to the looming water crisis,” mentioned WMO chief Petteri Taalas.
“The State of Climate Services 2021: Water” report comes just weeks just before COP26 — the UN Climate Change Conference becoming held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.
The WMO stressed that more than the last 20 years, the levels of water stored on land — on the surface, in the subsurface, in snow and ice — had dropped at a price of one centimetre per year.
The greatest losses are in Antarctica and Greenland, but lots of hugely-populated decrease latitude places are experiencing substantial water losses in locations that traditionally provide water provide, mentioned the WMO.
The agency mentioned there have been main ramifications for water safety, as only .5 % of water on Earth is useable and obtainable fresh water.
“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,” mentioned Taalas.
– ‘We can’t wait’ –
Meanwhile water-connected hazards have enhanced in frequency more than the previous 20 years.
Since 2000, flood-connected disasters have risen by 134 % compared with the earlier two decades.
“We have seven percent more humidity in the atmosphere because of the current warming and that’s also contributing to the flooding,” Taalas told a press conference.
Most of the flood-connected deaths and financial losses have been recorded in Asia, exactly where river flood warning systems need strengthening, mentioned the WMO.
At the similar time, there has been about a 30 % improve in the quantity and duration of drought events considering that 2000, with Africa the worst-impacted continent.
Taalas urged nations at COP26 to raise their game.
He mentioned most world leaders have been speaking about climate alter as a main danger to the welfare of mankind, but their actions have been not matching their words.
“We cannot wait for decades to start acting,” he mentioned.
“That’s also a message for countries like China which has said that they would like to become carbon neutral by 2060 but they don’t have a concrete plan for the coming decade.”
He mentioned the leading priority at COP26 was stepping up ambition levels in climate mitigation, but more work was also necessary on climate adaptations, as the unfavorable trend in climate patterns will continue for the coming decades — and the coming centuries when it comes to the melting of glaciers and sea levels increasing.
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