That number is expected to increase to over five billion by 2050, adding to the fact that more than 100 countries are not on track to manage water resources sustainably by 2030, this UN agency added.
The WMO and other climate and water leaders believe that water has been undervalued in climate talks for too long and not given the necessary priority in sustainable development and disaster risk reduction efforts.
Nonetheless, managing the precious liquid can be an effective solution to adapt to climate change impacts, build resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In their assessment, they added that the impacts of climate change are often felt through water: more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers.
Such phenomena have cascading consequences for economies, ecosystems and all aspects of daily life, they said.
According to the WMO, nearly 75 percent of all disasters over the past 20 years have been water-related, with floods affecting at least 1.6 billion people and droughts affecting 1.4 billion, with economic damage totaling nearly $700 billion.
In this regard, the Secretary-General of this agency, Petteri Taalas, stated that an important measure to prepare to face these disasters is to have effective early warning systems adapted to multiple threats.
The organization pledged to support the implementation of the Early Warning for All initiative by observing, monitoring and forecasting meteorological and hydrological risks such as floods and droughts.
On the eve of the 2023 Water Conference, WMO presented the Awakening Awareness about Water campaign on the eve of the 2023 Water Conference, aiming to accelerate efforts to achieve global water security.
ro/crc