Climate crisis driving world to drought
In June last year, when the United Nations termed drought as the next pandemic that could rival Covid-19, it was a foreshadowing of a dystopian future straight out of sci-fi films. Only the frightening reality seems to have arrived. Major river systems across Europe and the US have run dry as a climate-driven drought is shaking developed nations out of slumber. River Colorado in southwestern USA, a lifeline for 40 million people from seven states and Mexico, has shrunk, prompting the government to impose mandatory water use cuts and emergency action plans. The river system sustains a $15 billion agriculture industry. Over 40% of the US is witnessing a prolonged drought.
Europe is grappling with one never seen in its recent memory. In France, large stretches of the 600-mile-long Loire river have simply evaporated, leaving the world’s most-prized vineyards in the doldrums. River Danube, which traverses through 10 European countries and provides a crucial shipping channel, is in dire straits. Almost a third of Italy’s food is produced along the Po river, which is so dried up that it exposed a World War II era bomb in its bed. Similar stories abound across Africa and Asia, triggering fears that the planet is hurtling towards a crisis beyond anyone’s comprehension.
The climate crisis has hit home too. Before the monsoon season began, northeast India reported a deluge of unthinkable proportions, leaving close to a million people displaced. Similar disasters have hit Bihar, Odisha and north Indian hilly states. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change says the country’s monsoon precipitation declined by 6% from 1951 to 2015. The area affected by drought increased by 1.3% per decade with a growing frequency.
A study by two IITs in 2019 revealed that at least 16 of 24 river basins face a high probability of drought due to lowered moisture soil, which could seriously affect India’s food security. According to the UN, current emission rates will increase drought frequency and severely impact the bottom lines of developed countries and worsen food security across developing and poor nations already exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. The danger is clear and present.