{"id":224944,"date":"2022-12-05T12:00:36","date_gmt":"2022-12-05T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=224944"},"modified":"2022-12-02T09:26:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T09:26:17","slug":"this-planet-is-drying-up-and-these-are-the-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/12\/this-planet-is-drying-up-and-these-are-the-consequences\/","title":{"rendered":"This Planet Is Drying Up–and These Are the Consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Dec 2022 – <\/em>Drought is one of the \u2018most destructive\u2019 natural disasters in terms of the loss of life, arising from impacts, such as wide-scale crop failure, wildfires and water stress.<\/p>\n

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By 2050, droughts may affect an estimated three-quarters of the world\u2019s population. Credit: Miriet Abrego \/ IPS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In other words, droughts are one of the \u201cmost feared natural phenomena in the world;\u201d they devastate farmland, destroy livelihoods and cause untold suffering, as reported<\/a> by the world\u2019s top specialised bodies: the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD<\/a>).<\/p>\n

They occur when an area experiences a shortage of water supply due to a lack of rainfall or lack of surface or groundwater. And they can last for weeks, months or years.<\/p>\n

Exacerbated by land degradation and climate change, droughts are increasing in frequency and severity, up 29% since 2000, with 55 million people affected every year.<\/p>\n

By 2050, droughts may affect an estimated three-quarters of the world\u2019s population. This means that agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to meet the global food demand in 2050.<\/p>\n

This means that about 71% of the world\u2019s irrigated area and 47% of major cities are to experience at least periodic water shortages. If this trend continues, the scarcity and associated water quality problems will lead to competition and conflicts among water users, adds the Convention.<\/p>\n

Most of the world already impacted<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

The alert is loud and strong and it comes from a number of the world\u2019s most knowledgeable organisations.<\/p>\n

To begin with, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO<\/a>) on 29 November 2022 reported<\/a> that most of the globe was drier than normal in 2021, with \u201ccascading effects on economies, ecosystems and our daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Water<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Between 2001 and 2018, UN-Water<\/a> reported that a staggering 74% of all-natural disasters were water-related.<\/p>\n

Currently, over 3.6 billion people have inadequate access to water at least one month per year and this is expected to increase to more than five billion by 2050.<\/p>\n

Moreover, areas that were unusually dry included South America\u2019s Rio de la Plata area, where a persistent drought has affected the region since 2019, according to WMO\u2019s The State of Global Water Resources report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Drying rivers, lakes<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

In Africa, major rivers such as the Niger, Volta, Nile and Congo had below-average water flow in 2021.<\/p>\n

The same trend was observed in rivers in parts of Russia, West Siberia and in Central Asia.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there were above-normal river volumes in some North American basins, the North Amazon and South Africa, as well as in China\u2019s Amur river basin, and northern India.<\/p>\n

Cascading effects<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

The impacts of climate change are often felt through water \u2013 more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers \u2013 with cascading effects on economies, ecosystems and all aspects of our daily lives, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.<\/p>\n

\u201cChanges to Cryosphere water resources affect food security, human health, ecosystem integrity and maintenance, and lead to significant impacts on economic and social development\u201d, said WMO, sometimes causing river flooding and flash floods due to glacier lake outbursts.<\/p>\n

The cryosphere \u2013 namely glaciers, snow cover, ice caps and, where present, permafrost \u2013 is the world\u2019s biggest natural reservoir of freshwater.<\/p>\n

Soils<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n

Being water \u2013or rather the lack of it\u2013 a major cause-effect of the fast-growing deterioration of natural resources, and the consequent damage to the world\u2019s food production, the theme of\u00a0World Soil Day 2022<\/a>, marked 5 December, is \u201cSoils: Where food begins.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):<\/a><\/p>\n