Around 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water a month per year: WMO

Most of the globe was drier than normal in 2021, with “cascading effects on economies, ecosystems, and our daily lives

Geneva: Around 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per year, the World Meteorological Organisation, WMO said in its first State of Global Water Resources 2021 report,

The report further added that this is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050. It published on Tuesday assesses the effects of climate, environmental and societal change on the Earth’s water resources.

The report gives an overview of river flow, as well as major floods and droughts. It provides insights into hotspots for changes in freshwater storage and highlights the crucial role and vulnerability of the cryosphere.

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

“And yet, there is insufficient understanding of changes in the distribution, quantity, and quality of freshwater resources” he said.

Between 2001 and 2018, UN-Water reported that a staggering 74 per cent of all-natural disasters were water-related.

The recent UN climate change conference, COP27, in Egypt, urged governments to further integrate water into adaptation efforts, the first-time water has been referenced in a COP outcome document in recognition of its critical importance, noted WMO.

The report looks at streamflow the volume of water flowing through a river channel at any given time and also assesses terrestrial water storage in other words, all water on the land surface and sub-surface and the cryosphere (Frozen water).

“Overall the negative trends are stronger than the positive ones”, warned WMO, with several hotspots emerging including Patagonia, the Ganges and Indus headwaters, as well as the southwestern US.

“Changes to cryosphere water resources affect food security, human health, ecosystem integrity, and maintenance, and lead to significant impacts on economic and social development”, said WMO, sometimes causing river flooding and flash floods due to glacier lake outbursts.

The cryosphere namely glaciers, snow cover, ice caps, and, where present, permafrost is the world’s biggest natural reservoir of freshwater.

It shows how large areas of the globe recorded drier than normal conditions in 2021 – a year in which precipitation patterns were influenced by climate change and a La Niña event.

The area with below-average streamflow was approximately two times larger than the above-average area, in comparison to the 30-year hydrological average.

The information and accompanying maps are largely based on modelled data and remotely sensed information from NASA’s GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) mission for terrestrial water storage.