- Home
- World
- 'Silent devastation' of drought set to increase globally as climate change worsens: UN report
'Silent Devastation' Of Drought Set To Increase Globally As Climate Change Worsens: UN Report
Sumaira FH Published December 03, 2023 | 01:10 AM
UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Dec, 2023) Drought is starting to unfold as an unprecedented planetary-scale emergency, the United Nations has warned.
A new Global Drought Snapshot report released by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at COP28 in Dubai has warned that drought is becoming a silent killer as climate change worsens.
It warns that it is claiming more lives, causing economic loss, and seriously affecting some areas of society, than ever before.
Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary, emphasized the urgency of the situation.
“Unlike other disasters that attract media attention, droughts happen silently, often going unnoticed and failing to provoke an immediate public and political response,” he said.
“With the frequency and severity of drought events increasing, as reservoir levels dwindle and crop yields decline, as we continue to lose biological diversity and famines spread, transformational change is needed.”
The report stresses that land restoration and sustainable management are critical to strengthening drought resilience.
It also urges nature-positive farming techniques, such as growing drought-resistant crops, efficient irrigation methods and soil conservation practices, so that communities can reduce the impact of drought on their crops and incomes.
Efficient water management is another key component of global drought resilience.
This includes investing in sustainable water supply systems, conservation measures and the promotion of water-efficient technologies.
UNCCD also called for disaster preparedness and early warning systems for global drought resilience.
Greater investments in meteorological monitoring, data collection and risk assessment can help respond quickly to drought emergencies and minimize impacts, it said, calling also for international cooperation, knowledge sharing, and environmental and social justice.
The publication includes important drought data, including on geographic spread, agriculture and forests, water conditions, social dimensions, emissions, and more.
For instance, it shows 85 per cent of those affected by droughts live in low or middle-income countries, and that people living in countries classified as highly vulnerable are 15 times more likely to be killed by floods, droughts and storms as those in low vulnerability ones.
It also notes that 1.2 million people in the so-called Central American Dry Corridor – a strip of land across El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua – need food aid, after going through five years of drought, heatwaves and unpredictable rainfall.
Also on Friday, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released the first-ever findings from its Methane Alert and Reponses System (MARS).
The System uses satellites to monitor methane data to help governments limit anthropogenic emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas – over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide (COs) and responsible for a third of today’s global warming.
The term anthropogenic emission refers to emissions caused or influenced by human activity – directly or indirectly.
Atmospheric methane is at its highest level in recorded history, with serious implications for air quality and human health, according to UNEP.
The agency added that human activities in agriculture, waste, and fossil fuel sectors account for more than half of global methane emissions, and the current rate of human activity could see methane levels rise by up to 13 per cent between 2020 and 2030, when they would need to fall by up to 60 per cent over the same period to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Dar for joint action to counter Islamophobia in context of Israeli aggression ag ..
Azam Tarar urges for effective implementation of Action Plan for Human Rights
PAF cadets' graduation ceremony held
One-day national seminar "Great Power Competition: Challenges and Opportunities ..
10 firms submit LoIs for PIA: Aleem Khan
Saudi Arabia launches Nusuk pilgrim card for the Hajj of 2024
High Commissioner Hawkins hosts reception to mark 'Australia Day in Spring'
PM forms inquiry committee to probe matter of wheat import
E-Evidence system inaugurated in Bahawalnagar district courts
Bitterness at UCLA as Gaza protest cleared
Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist
DC reviews seven-day anti-polio drive in Federal Capital
More Stories From World
-
Bitterness at UCLA as Gaza protest cleared
5 hours ago -
Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist
5 hours ago -
UK police arrest 45 at protest against migrant removals
5 hours ago -
Macron floats Ukraine troop deployment if frontline breached
5 hours ago -
Gaza needs biggest post-war reconstruction effort since WWII: UN
5 hours ago -
Kids study in overheated slum as Philippines shuts schools
6 hours ago
-
Macron floats Ukraine troop deployment if frontline breached
6 hours ago -
Biden says 'order must prevail' on US campuses amid protests
6 hours ago -
Death toll from rain, flooding in southern Brazil rises to 13
6 hours ago -
US says 'deeply concerned' by Georgia's 'foreign influence' bill
6 hours ago -
Kenya, Tanzania brace for cyclone as heavy rains persist
6 hours ago -
Gaza post-war reconstruction at scale unseen since WWII, UN says
6 hours ago