Droughts Causing Record Devastation Worldwide, UN-backed Report Reveals

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published July 22, 2025 | 12:30 AM

(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 22nd Jul, 2025) NEW YORK, 21st July, 2025 (WAM) – Worldwide, some of the most widespread and damaging drought events in recorded history have occurred in recent years due to climate change and resource depletion.

This is according to a new report from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) and the International Drought Resilience Alliance on the global impacts of droughts from 2023 to 2025.

“Drought is a silent killer. It creeps in, drains resources, and devastates lives in slow motion. Its scars run deep,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw.

“This is not a dry spell,” stressed Dr. Mark Svoboda, report co-author and NDMC Director. “This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen.

This report underscores the need for systematic monitoring of how drought affects lives, livelihoods, and the health of the ecosystems that we all depend on.”

According to the report, as 90 million people face acute hunger across Eastern and Southern Africa, some areas in the region have been experiencing the worst drought ever recorded.

The report listed several recommendations to help combat this crisis, including stronger early warning systems, real-time drought and drought impact monitoring, and nature-based solutions such as watershed restoration and indigenous crop use.

It also called for more resilient infrastructure – including off-grid energy and alternative water supply systems – and global cooperation, particularly regarding transboundary river basins and trade routes.