He global water cycle lived last year new climate extremes and disasters related to water caused the death of more than 8,700 peopledisplaced 40 million and caused economic losses of more than $550 billion. The report World Water Monitorin which an international team of researchers participates, points out that in 2004 there were “fierce floods and crippling droughts.”
He Last year was the hottest on record and the increase in temperatures that is cchanging the way water moves around the planet, “wreaking havoc” on the water cycle, indicates the report, led by the Australian National University (ANU). The most damaging water-related disasters of 2024 were flash floodsriver flooding, droughts, tropical cyclones and landslides.
Global warming contributed to “the downpours are more intense and storms move more slowly, as demonstrated by deadly flash floods in Europe, Asia and Brazil“report director Albert van Dijk of the ANU said in a statement.
The expert cited, among others, the flash floods in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with more than a thousand dead, or the DANA from last October in Spainwhich left 232 dead and more than 500 liters per square meter in eight hours. In addition to the floods in Brazil, which caused more than 80 deaths, and the monsoon rains in Bangladesh, with the release of dams in August, which affected 5.8 million people and destroyed at least one million tons of rice.
Every time they fight more rainfall records and in 2024, historical monthly maximums were reached 27% more frequently than at the beginning of this century, while daily rainfall records were reached 52% more frequently. The Record rainfall lows were 38% more frequent“so we are seeing worse extremes on both sides,” Van Dijk indicated in the note.
Furthermore, rising sea surface temperatures intensified the tropical cyclones and droughts in the Amazon basin and southern Africa. The drop in river levels was record high in the Amazon basin, one of the most important ecosystems on Earth, cutting off transportation routes and disrupting hydroelectric power generation.
52,000 square km burned
The forest fires caused by the hot and dry weather burned more than 52,000 square kilometers in September alonereleasing large amounts of greenhouse gases.
In the south of Africa, a serious drought reduced corn production by more than 50% and left 30 million people with food shortages, farmers were forced to sacrifice livestock as pastures dried and hydroelectric production was reduced, with widespread blackouts.
The expert emphasized that it is necessary prepare and adapt to “inevitably more serious” extreme phenomena. As measures, he cited strengthening flood defenses, developing more drought-resistant food production and water supplies, and improving early warning systems. Water – he recalled – “is our most important resource, and its extremes – floods and droughts – are one of the greatest threats we face.”
The World Water Monitor report is a collaboration between institutions around the world in which various public and private organizations participate. To do this, the research team used data from thousands of ground stations and satellites in orbit around the Earth that offer information, almost in real time, on fundamental water variables, such as precipitation, soil humidity, river flow and floods.
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