The State of Climate Services Report 2021 – Water Report
Recently the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released ‘The State of Climate Services Report, 2021’.
This annual report focuses on the state of climate services to assess adaptation needs in climate-sensitive socioeconomic regions. The 2021 edition focuses on water.
Key Conclusions:
- In 2018, 3.6 billion people had insufficient access to water for at least one month per year. By the year 2050, the number of people facing this type of water crisis is expected to increase to more than five billion.
- There has been a 134% increase in flood-related disasters since the year 2000. The drought period has also registered an increase of 29% over the past two decades.
- 34% of WMO member states have provided data, and 54% of other member states lack or insufficient comprehensive forecasting and warning systems for floods and droughts along the river.
Recommendations:
- One should invest in integrated resource water management as a solution for better management of water crisis.
- Investments should be made in comprehensive early warning systems for droughts and floods in less developed countries. Also, investments should be made for drought warnings in Africa and flood warnings in Asia.
- Join the Water and Climate Coalition to promote policy development for integrated water and climate assessment.
- The dialogue between national level stakeholders should be improved for co-development and operation of climate services.
Source – The Hindu
