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Extreme Weather Events and Water Crisis Essay

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Introduction

The increasing variability of climatic conditions has manifested in recent decades in climate extremes and the frequency of dangerous meteorological phenomena that initiate natural and artificial disasters. According to the estimates of the World Meteorological Organization, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and other international organizations, there is a steady trend of increasing material losses and vulnerability of society due to the increasing impact of natural hazards (World Economic Forum, 2019). Extreme weather events now occur in a significantly warmer and wetter atmosphere, which means that the atmosphere contains more energy, contributing to more severe extreme weather.

Discussion

Changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme events directly result from the general temperature increase. They grow with warming, which is reasonably expected with an available shift in the density function of the probability distribution of temperature anomalies. Such trends are observed according to observations and the results of experiments with climate models. The European Academies Science Advisory Council has published the results of a study of extreme weather events in Europe. The report was prepared based on statistics, satellite images, oceanographic monitoring, and many other data from 1980 to 2016 (Kron et al., 2019). Scientists have concluded that floods and other hydrological events have increased fourfold during this period. Extreme temperatures and mighty storm phenomena now occur twice as often as at the end of the XX century (Kron et al., 2019). All extreme weather events are affected by climate change.

Climate change hurts weather conditions, leading to extreme weather events, the unpredictability of the availability of water resources, the aggravation of water shortages, and the pollution of water sources. Such consequences can significantly affect the quantity and quality of water needed for survival. About 74% of the natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water-related, including droughts and floods (Damania et al., 2019). It is expected that as the climate changes, the frequency and intensity of such phenomena will only increase. Natural disasters can destroy or contaminate all water sources, increasing the risk of diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever, to which children are particularly predisposed. Climate change exacerbates water scarcity in areas with minimal water resources, leading to increased water resource competition and even conflicts.

The water crisis is an important and urgent problem in the modern world. As a result, about 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion people experience water shortages at least one month a year (Damania et al., 2019). Inadequate sanitation is also a problem for more than 2 billion people — they are susceptible to diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, and other waterborne diseases (Damania et al., 2019). Two million people, primarily children, die yearly from diarrheal diseases (Damania et al., 2019). Lakes, rivers, and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. Climate change is changing the nature of weather and water worldwide, causing scarcity and drought in some areas and flooding in others.

Conclusion

Extreme weather conditions and the water crisis are urgent problems for humanity. In the matrix of the World Economic Forum, extreme weather conditions are in the upper-right corner (World Economic Forum, 2019). This is because, as already mentioned, they significantly impact people’s lives and the world. Moreover, have a high probability of occurrence due to global warming. The water crisis is to the left and below but also within the square of high likelihood and high impact for the same reasons.

References

Damania, R., Desbureaux, S., Rodella, A. S., Russ, J., & Zaveri, E. (2019). Quality unknown: the invisible water crisis. World Bank Publications.

Kron, W., Löw, P., & Kundzewicz, Z. W. (2019). . Environmental Science & Policy, 100, 74-83. Web.

World Economic Forum. (2019). . Web.

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