２０５０年に５０億人が水の確保困難に　世界気象機関

【ジュネーブＡＦＰ＝時事】世界気象機関（ＷＭＯ）は５日、２０５０年に世界で５０億人以上の水の確保が困難になる恐れがあるとの予測を発表し、今月末から開催される国連（ＵＮ）気候変動枠組み条約第２６回締約国会議（ＣＯＰ２６）で対策を講じるよう各国首脳に求めた。（写真は資料写真）
　ＷＭＯの最新報告によると、２０１８年にはすでに３６億人が１年に少なくとも１か月間、水を十分に確保できない状態にあった。
　ＷＭＯのペッテリ・ターラス事務局長は「迫り来る水危機に警戒する必要がある」と述べた。
　ＷＭＯの報告書「気候サービスの現状」２０２１年版は、今月３１日から１１月１２日まで英グラスゴーで開催されるＣＯＰ２６を前に発表された。
　ＷＭＯは過去２０年間で地表水、地下水、雪や氷を含めて陸地に蓄えられている水の量が１年に１センチの割合で減少している点を強調。最も多くの水が失われているのは南極とグリーンランドだが、人口の多い低緯度地域の多くでは、昔から水を供給してきた地域で大幅に水が減っているという。
　ＷＭＯによると、地球上の水のうち使用可能な淡水はわずか０．５％で、水の安全保障に大きな影響が生じる。ターラス氏は「気温の上昇は、世界的および地域的な降水量の変化をもたらし、降雨パターンや農耕期の変化にもつながり、食糧安全保障や人間の暮らし、健康に大きな影響を与える」と警告した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/10/06-11:27）

More than five billion people could have difficulty accessing water in 2050, the United Nations warned Tuesday, urging leaders to seize the initiative at the COP26 summit.
Already in 2018, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water for at least one month per year, said a new report from the UN's World Meteorological Organization.
We need to wake up to the looming water crisis, said WMO chief Petteri Taalas.
The State of Climate Services 2021: Water report comes just weeks before COP26 -- the UN Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12.
The WMO stressed that over the last 20 years, the levels of water stored on land -- on the surface, in the subsurface, in snow and ice -- had dropped at a rate of one centimetre per year.
The biggest losses are in Antarctica and Greenland, but many highly-populated lower latitude locations are experiencing significant water losses in areas that traditionally provide water supply, said the WMO.
The agency said there were major ramifications for water security, as only 0.5 percent of water on Earth is useable and available fresh water.
Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and regional precipitation changes, leading to shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, with a major impact on food security and human health and well-being, said Taalas.
- 'We cannot wait' -
Meanwhile water-related hazards have increased in frequency over the past 20 years.
Since 2000, flood-related disasters have risen by 134 percent compared with the previous two decades.
We have seven percent more humidity in the atmosphere because of the current warming and that's also contributing to the flooding, Taalas told a press conference.
Most of the flood-related deaths and economic losses were recorded in Asia, where river flood warning systems require strengthening, said the WMO.
At the same time, there has been around a 30 percent increase in the amount and duration of drought events since 2000, with Africa the worst-affected continent.
Taalas urged countries at COP26 to raise their game.
He said most world leaders were talking about climate change as a major risk to the welfare of mankind, but their actions were not matching their words.
We cannot wait for decades to start acting, he said.
That's also a message for countries like China which has said that they would like to become carbon neutral by 2060 but they don't have a concrete plan for the coming decade.
He said the top priority at COP26 was stepping up ambition levels in climate mitigation, but more work was also needed on climate adaptations, as the negative trend in weather patterns will continue for the coming decades -- and the coming centuries when it comes to the melting of glaciers and sea levels rising.