The rivers of the world They had their driest year in 2023 in more than three decades, indicated the meteorological agency of United Nations. The reduction of flowsin a year that broke heat records, contributed to prolonged droughts in some places.
Prolonged droughts and minimum flows
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) He also pointed out that the glaciers that they feed the rivers In many countries they suffered greater mass loss of the last five decadesand warned that the thaw can threaten In the long term, the water security of millions of people all over the world.
“Water is the canary in the coal mine of climate change. We are receiving warning signals in the form of increasingly extreme rains, floods and droughts that take a heavy toll on lives, ecosystems and economies,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said at the presentation of the report on Monday.
The rise in temperatures has been a factor in the hydrological cycle becoming “more erratic and unpredictable” in ways that can produce “either too much or too little water” in form of floods and droughtshe explained.
Global water crisis on the rise
Some 3 thousand 600 million of people face a inadequate access to the water for at least one month a year, a figure that is expected to reach 5 billion people by 2050, indicated the meteorological agency, citing figures from the UN mechanism, United Nations Water.
He world recorded in 2023 the hottest year on record and the this year’s northern summer was also the hottest never documented, which raises the risk of a possible new annual record in 2024.
“In the (last) 33 years of data, we have never had such a large area in the world that was in such dry conditions,” said Stefan Uhlenbrook, director of hydrology, water and cryosphere at the WMO.
The report Indian that the south of USA, as well as countries in Central America and the South American countries of Argentina, Peru and Uruguay suffered widespread drought conditions and “water levels lowest observed to date in the Amazon and Lake Titicaca”, on the border between Peru and Bolivia.
The Mississippi River Basin also experienced a record minimum flow, the report noted. Half the world suffered low flow conditions in rivers last year, said the WMO.
Climate change intensifies the water cycle
Although the data for 2024 is still are not availableUhlenbrook said it was “very likely” that the extremely hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere means low flow rates this year, and “in many places around the world, we hope more water scarcity”.
The water reduction available has had an impact on river navigation in places like Brazil and one food crisis in Zimbabwe and other parts of southern Africa this year.
The WMO asked for improvements in the collection and exchange of data for help clarify the real situation of water resources and help countries and populations take action accordingly.
mach
