World Meteorological Organization report on the state of global water resources
ReportWorld OrganizationMeteorologicalAboutThe State of World Water Resources
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently presented its second report on the state of the world’s water resources. This report indicated that large parts of the world experienced drier conditions – in 2022 – than those recorded on average for similar periods over the past thirty years.
Professor Robert Reineke from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) explained that approximately 40% of the areas examined were experiencing drier conditions than usual; This means that the flow rate of many rivers around the world was much lower than would be expected.
Moreover, the report explained that soil moisture levels were – in many cases – an indicator of the effects of the heat waves that we witnessed, and this in conjunction with the continuing need for increased water use led to groundwater levels being lower than they were in the reference period (the period being measured by reference).
Reineke, who joined JGU in May 2023, made a fruitful contribution to the WMO report, the result of his collaboration with Dr. Hannes Müller-Schmid, from Goethe University Frankfurt, the Senckenberg-Leibniz Center for Biodiversity and Climate Research in Frankfurt (SBiK-F), as well as the Global Runoff Database Center (GRDC). In “Koblenz”.
Together they provided the necessary data for the simulation, which was based on hydrological modeling, participated in the development of the corresponding methodology, and carried out scientific examination and verification of the main data of the report. With the World Meteorological Organization in its role as a coordinating body, the report is based on the expertise provided by 11 international modeling groups.
Scientifically validated findings on the global water situation
The first State of World Water Resources Report for 2021 was presented in late November 2022 at WMO headquarters in Geneva, and is scheduled to be presented annually. This annual report includes an overview of the state of water resources on Earth.
We can often see the effects of climate fluctuations and changes by observing the changes that occur in water continuously. Heat waves associated with drought, for example, can increase the likelihood of forest fires occurring, and they can then spread more quickly due to a lack of soil moisture.
Reinecke added that the WMO report is designed to provide politicians and all industries with knowledge; To identify areas that are at risk of facing emergencies as a result of water shortages, or that are already experiencing a crisis.
Among the data revealed in the 2022 report is information about the rate of river discharge, levels ofgroundwater, soil moisture, and evaporation. However, creating the database itself is a problem; Because there are not currently enough global statistics available.
Reneke, who specializes in modeling techniques, explained that there is a particular lack of data related to groundwater. Even Germany cannot provide complete statistics regarding the conditions related to the groundwater problem. But there is no doubt that drought conditions in 2022 have had a significant impact in Germany as well.
What indicates the existence of the problem of water shortage is what happened to the Rhine River, where water levels decreased – significantly – over long periods, and France suffered – as a result of what happened – severe drought and some difficulties related to providing cooling, which nuclear power plants need, as a result of the lack of sufficient rain, and this is what happened – also – to the Po River in Italy. South America also experienced severe drought conditions similar to those in France. In contrast, a country like Australia did not suffer from insufficient rainfall, but rather increased rainfall. But this did not prevent groundwater levels in the Murray-Darling Basin from continuing to fall below the normal rate.
