Press notice

Humanity is “at a crossroads” when it comes to managing drought and accelerating mitigation must be done “urgently, using every tool we can,” says a new report from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

“Drought In Numbers, 2022,” released today to mark Drought Day at UNCCD’s 15th Conference of Parties (COP15, 9-20 May in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire), calls for making a full global commitment to drought preparedness and resilience in all global regions a top priority.

The report, an authoritative compendium of drought-related information and data, helps inform negotiations of one of several decisions by UNCCD’s 196 member states, to be issued 20 May at the conclusion of COP15.

“The facts and figures of this publication all point in the same direction: an upward trajectory in the duration of droughts and the severity of impacts, not only affecting human societies but also the ecological systems upon which the survival of all life depends, including that of our own species,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD.

The report creates a compelling call to action. For example:

• Since 2000, the number and duration of droughts has risen 29%
• From 1970 to 2019, weather, climate and water hazards accounted for 50% of disasters and 45% of disaster-related deaths, mostly in developing countries
• Droughts represent 15% of natural disasters but took the largest human toll, approximately 650,000 deaths from 1970-2019
• From 1998 to 2017, droughts caused global economic losses of roughly 124 billion US dollars
• In 2022, more than 2.3 billion people face water stress; almost 160 million children are exposed to severe and prolonged droughts

Unless action is stepped up:

• By 2030, an estimated 700 million people will be at risk of being displaced by drought
• By 2040, an estimated one in four children will live in areas with extreme water shortages
• By 2050, droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population, and an estimated 4.8-5.7 billion people will live in areas that are water-scarce for at least one month each year, up from 3.6 billion today. And up to 216 million people could be forced to migrate by 2050, largely due to drought in combination with other factors including water scarcity, declining crop productivity, sea-level rise, and overpopulation