Global Drought Snapshot : COP28
According to the report, ‘Global Drought Snapshot,’ launched by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at the outset of COP28 climate talks in the UAE, mentioned that drought causes more economic loss and affects more sectors of societies.
Report:
- 70% cereal crops were damaged by drought in the Mediterranean, 2016–2018.
- 33% loss of grazing land in South Africa due to drought
- Five consecutive rainfall season failures in the Horn of Africa, caused the region’s worst drought in 40 years, contributing to reduced agricultural productivity, food insecurity and high food prices.
- Africa’s drought-related economic losses in the past 50 years at $70 billion.
- 75% reduction of cargo capacity of some vessels on the Rhine due to low river levels in 2022, leading to severe delays in shipping arrivals and departures
- 5 million people in southern China affected by record-low water levels in the Yangtze River due to drought and prolonged heat
- 85% of people affected by droughts live in low-or middle-income countries.
- 2 million people in the Central American Dry Corridor needing food aid after five years of drought, heatwaves and unpredictable rainfall.
UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):
- It is one of three Conventions originated at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
- It is the only legally binding framework set up to address desertification and the effects of drought.
