Global Warming Threatens Global Water Supply

Record the final temperature The year pushed the world’s water cycle into a “new era,” according to Global Water Monitor Report 2024. The document, produced by an international organization led by researchers from the Australian National University, says that this climate change caused floods and droughts that killed more than 8,700 people, displaced 40 million people, and caused economic damage of more than $550 billion.

The report was carried out by an international team and was led by ANU professor Albert van Dijk. It shows that 2024 was the hottest year so far about 4 billion people in 111 countries, and that the temperature of the air in the world was 1.2 degrees Celsius than recorded at the beginning of the century and 2.2 degrees Celsius than at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

Van Dijk says that water systems around the world have been affected. “From droughts to floods, these climate changes affect people’s lives, livelihoods, and the environment as a whole. “Water is our most important resource, and its extreme conditions are among the biggest threats we face,” he says.

The report’s authors analyzed data from thousands of ground and satellite stations that collect real-time data on key water variables, including rainfall amounts and frequencies, soil moisture, and flooding.

“We found that rainfall records are being broken and increasing in frequency. For example, monthly rainfall was 27 percent more frequent in 2024 than at the beginning of this century, while daily rainfall was 52 percent more frequent. The lowest record was 38 percent more frequent, so we see the worst from both sides,” says Van Dijk.

The study says, as a result, sea surface temperatures rose, increasing hurricanes and droughts in the Amazon region and southern Africa. Global warming led to slow-moving hurricanes in Europe, Asia, and Brazil, which brought heavy rain to some areas—such as Valencia, Spain. Flooding occurred in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while the rise of the Yangtze and Pearl rivers in southern China destroyed rice crops.

“In Bangladesh, heavy rains and dam overflows affected more than 5.8 million people, and nearly 1 million tons of rice was destroyed. In the Amazon basin, forest fire “due to the hot and dry weather it destroyed 52,000 kilometers in September alone, emitting more greenhouse gases,” said Van Dijk.

The study adds that changes in water flow increased food shortages, disrupted shipping lines, and disrupted energy production in some areas. “We need to prepare and adapt to the worst-case scenario. This could mean adopting stronger flood defenses, developing new food production systems and drought-resistant water systems,” says Van Dijk.

World leaders have pledged to implement measures and policies to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the end of the century, but the World Meteorological Organization has said current efforts are not enough. The WMO estimates that there is an 80 percent chance that global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels again in the next five years. The data show that humanity is far from meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and are raising new concerns about the progress of climate change.

Funding is another problem. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that the gap in funding for climate change is between $194 billion and $366 billion per year.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said that “we are walking on the throne of the planet. Leaders either close the carbon gap or we face a climate disaster, with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering the most. The countdown to action has begun. “

This article appeared first Wire in Spanish and translated from Spanish.