Published November 29,2023
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According to estimates, almost 216 million folks worldwide might be compelled to migrate by 2050 attributable to drought-related components equivalent to water shortage, rising sea ranges, crop loss, and extreme inhabitants development.
Experts notice that the areas most affected would be the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East, the place meteorological fashions point out 30% much less precipitation.
The Drought in Numbers 2022 report, launched by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in May final 12 months, revealed that an estimated 55 million folks globally are instantly affected by droughts yearly.
Over 1.4 billion folks had been affected by drought from 2000 to 2019. This makes drought the catastrophe affecting the second-highest variety of folks, after flooding, in accordance with the report.
“More than 10 million people died due to major drought events in the past century, causing several hundred billion US dollars in economic losses worldwide. And the numbers are rising,” mentioned the report.
If world warming reaches three levels Celsius by 2100 as some predict, drought losses may very well be 5 instances increased than they’re in the present day, with the most important enhance within the Mediterranean and the Atlantic areas of Europe, it added.
All international locations should scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions to attain restoration within the discipline of drought, Hasan Tatlı, head of the Geography Department at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, informed Anadolu.
“If you surpass a certain threshold, even if you later zero out emissions, you cannot prevent climate change. The majority of scientists agree that we have already passed that stage,” Tatlı warned.
“There are very recent studies suggesting that even if you zero out emissions, the effects of climate change will last for at least 100 years,” he mentioned.
“The Mediterranean region, North Africa, and the Middle East are highly exposed to drought, and they are the most sensitive points to climate change,” in accordance with Tatlı.
Tatlı underlined that main droughts are anticipated in these areas as meteorological fashions point out 30% much less precipitation.
“This will also lead to socio-economic problems, with climate migrations being at the forefront. Unfortunately, these climate migrations will occur through Türkiye, so the country will suffer a great deal from them,” he mentioned.
“It is expected that only from North Africa and the Middle East, 500-600 million people will migrate northward,” the knowledgeable warned.
Source: www.anews.com.tr