WMO/Vladimir Tadic
Extreme weather in Bosnia's mountains.
UNHCR helps thousands hit by monsoon storms in Rohingya refugee camps ,
by UNHCR
Floods, extreme rainfall, droughts and melting glaciers…many of
the major signs of climate change involve water. On this year’s World
Meteorological Day, the UN weather agency (WMO) is reinforcing the message of
World Water Day, by focusing on the links between climate and water, and
calling for better water-related data.
In a
message to mark the Day, UN Secretary-General
António Guterres said that climate and water are “inextricably
linked. Both lie at the heart of global goals on sustainable development,
climate change and disaster risk reduction”.
“Water”, he continued, “is one of the most precious
commodities of the 21st century. National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services will be central to efforts to ‘count every drop, because every drop
counts’”.
We can’t manage what we
can’t measure: the importance of data
The increasingly unpredictable, changing weather patterns
are likely to lead to more “water stress” which, in turn, will affect
sustainable development and security.
The effects of unpredictable weather were described, in
detail, in the WMO’s flagship weather report, the Statement on the State of the
Global Climate in 2019, released on 10 March. The study showed that climate
change is having a major effect on all aspects of the environment, as well as
on the health and wellbeing of the global population.
In 2019, extreme weather events, some of which were
unprecedented in scale, took place in many parts of the world.
These
included monsoon rains and deadly floods in India, the driest year on record in
Australia, and the widespread devastation caused by cyclone Idai in Mozambique
and the east coast of Africa.
This is why the WMO is urging for a ramping up of water
forecasting, monitoring and management of supplies. This will help to tackle
the problem of too much, too little, or too polluted water.
Better data can help in the planning of water projects,
such as hydroelectric plants; improved understanding of the impact that water
resource management has on the environment, the economy and society; and can
help us to better protect people, property and ecosystems from water-related
hazards, particularly floods, droughts and pollutants.
Closer collaboration between
weather and water services
Because of the likelihood that future water demands will
require tough decisions to be made, when it comes to allocating resources, WMO
is calling for closer collaboration between meteorological (weather) and
hydrological (water) services.
The capacity to forecast, monitor and manage water is
currently fragmented and inadequate, a concern for WMO and its chief, Petteri
Taalas. “It is worrying to see that Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6)
which focuses on clean water and sanitation, is so far off track now.
“The world needs to demonstrate the same unity and
commitment to climate action and cutting greenhouse gas emissions as to
containing the Coronavirus pandemic”,
he said.
WMO is committed to working closely with UN Water and
other key United Nations partners, towards enhanced implementation and
acceleration of SDG6.