Current droughts and floods are just a ‘taste’ of the future, warns World Meteorological Organization

Examining thirty-three years of data, the organization found that the world’s rivers reached a level of drought last year never seen during this period.

The intense droughts and extreme floods that are increasing around the world are a “taste” future developments as climate change makes the water cycle more chaotic, the UN warned on Monday October 7. “Water is becoming more and more unpredictable” and “the warning signs are impossible to ignore”declared Celeste Saulo, secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency, at a press conference.

In a new report, the WMO warns of a worsening global water shortage. Examining thirty-three years of data, the organization found that the world’s rivers reached a level of drought last year never seen during this period.

“In the context of climate change, water gives us a foretaste of future developments”warns Celeste Saulo. “The warning signals are increasing: we are witnessing an exacerbation of extreme precipitation, floods and droughts, which are taking a heavy toll on lives, ecosystems and economies”she observes.

With 2023 being the hottest year on record, high temperatures and widespread low precipitation have contributed to prolonged droughts. However, floods have also increased on the planet: extreme hydrological events have been favored not only by natural climatic factors, notably the transition from La Nina conditions to an El Nino episode in mid-2023, but also by the climate change linked to human activities, indicates the WMO.

“The rise in temperature has accelerated the hydrological cyclewhich has also become more irregular and less predictable”explains Celeste Saulo. The consequences are multiple: “warmer atmosphere capable of containing more humidity”, increase in “risk of heavy precipitation” while “at the same time, accelerated evaporation and drying of soils worsen droughts.”