The record droughts on our planet are about to become “a new norm” that forces world leaders to “radically rethink” the way they manage them, warned the UN on Monday, publishing a world atlas of this scourge, on the first day of a global summit against desertification.
The year 2024, which looks set to be the hottest ever recorded on Earth, has been marked by several devastating droughts in the Mediterranean region, Ecuador, Brazil, Morocco, Namibia and Malawi, causing fires, water and food shortages, transmit
Each year, droughts directly affect 55 million people and represent “one of the most costly and lethal risks worldwide”, according to the atlas published by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in partnership with the Research Center scientific research of the European Commission (JRC).
The impacts of droughts are “less visible and attract less attention than sudden events such as floods and earthquakes”, but they should not be underestimated: following a domino effect, droughts constitute “a systemic phenomenon” affecting multiple sectors, such as agriculture, energy supply, trade and navigation, while threatening the health of ecosystems and people.
Taking into account their indirect effects, which have a magnitude “sometimes difficult to estimate and foresee”, they affected 1.84 million people in 2022 and 2023, of which approximately 85% live in low- or middle-income countries, recalls the same atlas, based on a report published by the UN at the end of 2023.
And by 2030, three out of four people will be affected by droughts worldwide, according to projections, due to climate change caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels.
Using dozens of maps, infographics and case studies, the atlas shows “how drought risks are interconnected (…) and how they can have cascading effects, fueling inequalities and conflicts and threatening public health”, explained a statement.
Thus, droughts can reduce the production of hydroelectric energy, triggering an increase in the price of energy or blackouts. If this occurs during a heat wave, then there may be a recrudescence of hospitalizations and deaths due to the lack of ventilation and air conditioning devices.
The new atlas also aims to urge public and private sector leaders “to radically rethink their way of making decisions and managing drought risks”, summarized Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of CNULCD, whose – the 16th conference takes place in Riyadh from December 2-13.
Droughts “do not simply mean the absence of rain, snow or moisture in the soil”, but rather “the result of a combination of natural climate variability, anthropogenic climate change and inadequate human management of water and land resources”, indicates the report of this Convention .
But “despite the extent of the threat”, their management “is underfunded”.
“Unprecedented cooperation between sectors and countries is necessary to achieve resilience”, concluded the authors of the atlas, calling for “proactive approaches and risk management perspectives”, especially in terms of water management, innovative agricultural practices and population warning systems.
