Water

As lengthening drought becomes the new normal, a parched region between India's Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh states is clearing out. Around half of the four million farmers living in the region have migrated temporarily or permanently since last year. While India's government runs a national employment guarantee scheme, it does not provide adequate support.

600 million Indians face acute water shortage, with close to 200,000 dying each year from polluted water. When water does flow from taps, it is often polluted, with nearly 70% of India's water contaminated, impacting three in four Indians. Meanwhile, unchecked extraction by farmers and wealthy residents has caused groundwater levels to plunge to record lows.

300,000 Kenyans who depend on Turkana - the world's biggest desert lake - could run short of drinking water and fish if Ethiopia moves ahead with plans to construct two more dams on a river upstream. The lake is likely to shrink slowly, reducing breeding grounds for fish, and becoming too toxic for people and animals to drink, possibly triggering conflict.

A recent study suggests that a warming climate in the Pacific Northwest would lessen the capacity of many forest microclimates to moderate climate extremes in the future. The ability of forests to buffer climate extremes is dependent on canopy cover and local moisture availability – both of which are expected to change as the Earth warms.

While it plays an important role, studies have shown that crop insurance encourages overuse of resources – particularly water – and makes the agricultural system less resilient in the face of climate change. Further, farmers with crop insurance might not take enough precautions against extreme weather, since crop losses will be covered.

After 2017’s floods, government officials and citizens are preparing for the potentially rough future by implementing a series of projects based on indigenous knowledge in the areas surrounding Lima. Their plan includes using a centuries-old canal system to slow excess water and prevent future droughts.

Understanding the interplay between multiple climate change risks and socioeconomic development is increasingly required to inform effective actions to manage these risks and pursue sustainable development.

The WMO is revamping its strategy on water in order to face up to the unprecedented challenges posed by hazards. WMO formally assumed the direction of the World Water Data Initiative, given that better data is key to better management of water. It also launched a new innovation call from the WMO HydroHub facility to support operational hydrology.