New data on desertification from the past two years shows nearly a quarter of the world population are stricken by human-induced droughts.
The report from the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification on Friday said drought has touched 1.84 billion people, and 4.7% face severe or extreme conditions that put their lives and livelihoods on the line.
"All facts and figures point to one direction: the need to move forward to a more drought-resilient future is immanent and without alternative," the report said.
"We are facing an unprecedented emergency on a planetary scale, where the massive impacts of human-induced droughts are only starting to unfold."
Several countries are already experiencing climate-change-induced famine, according to the report. Forced migration linked to drought is surging globally, it said, and violent water conflicts are on the rise as the ecological base that enables all life on Earth erodes more quickly than at any time in known human history.
Human activities, namely fossil fuel burning, have pushed the global temperature rise to 1.4° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organization reported this week as U.N. climate talks get underway in Dubai. This temperature rise has led to more frequent and hazardous weather events including drought, according to the U.N. Intergovernmenal Panel on Climate Change.
“Unlike other disasters that attract media attention, droughts happen silently, often going unnoticed and failing to provoke an immediate public and political response," said UNCCD's Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw. "This silent devastation perpetuates a cycle of neglect, leaving affected populations to bear the burden in isolation.”
More rainwater harvesting and insurance
Some 85% of people affected by drought live in low- or middle-income countries, the World Bank estimated. As of the end of 2022, drought across the Horn of Africa had left about 23 million people severely food insecure – lacking regular access to enough food to grow and lead an active and healthy life.
But there are possible solutions. Sustainable development would reduce population exposure to drought by 70% compared to fossil-fueled development, according to one study cited by UNCCD.
Close to 45% of disaster-related losses at a global level in 2020 were insured, but insurance cover – which could be increased – remains low in many developing countries. And on average, only 15% of rainwater enters the ground in urban areas, while 50% of rainwater is absorbed into the ground in rural areas.
More rainwater harvesting, UNCCD said, could provide both urban and rural areas with an efficient option to store rainwater and then reuse it in times of drought.
“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," Thiaw said.
