The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently presented its second report on the status of global water resources.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently presented its second report on the status of global water resources. According to this report, large parts of the world experienced drier conditions in 2022 than those recorded on average for the equivalent periods over the last 30 years. "Nearly 40 percent of the territories examined were suffering from drier than normal conditions," said Professor Robert Reinecke of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). "This means that the flow rate of many rivers worldwide was significantly below what would normally be expected. Added to this, the levels of moisture in the soil were frequently indicative of the effects of the heatwaves we have experienced while the need for greater use of water has resulted in the groundwater table becoming lower than in the reference period." Reinecke, who joined the JGU Institute of Geography in May 2023, has made a major contribution to the new WMO report – in collaboration with Dr. Hannes Müller Schmied of Goethe University Frankfurt and the Senckenberg Leibniz Biodiversity and Climate Research Center Frankfurt (SBiK-F) as well as the Global Runoff Database Center (GRDC) in Koblenz. Together they supplied simulation data based on hydrological modeling, participated in the development of the corresponding methodology, and provided scientific validation of the report's key statements. With the WMO acting as coordinating body, the report results from the expertise provided by 11 international modeling groups.
Scientifically Validated Findings on the Global Water Situation
The first State of Global Water Resources Report for 2021 was presented in late November 2022 at the WMO headquarters in Geneva. The report is to appear annually and provide an overview of the status of the Earth's water resources. The effects of climatic fluctuations and changes can often also be seen by what happens to our water: Heatwaves coupled with droughts can make wildfires more likely and these can then spread more rapidly due to the lack of soil moisture, to give only one example. "The WMO report is thus also designed to provide politicians and the industry with knowledge so as to identify regions that are at risk of experiencing water emergencies or are already in crisis," added Reinecke.
Read more at Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz
Image: A groundwater pump in California (photo/©: Robert Reinecke)
