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‘The next pandemic’: drought is a hidden global crisis, UN says
(The Guardian, 17 Jun 2021) Countries urged to take urgent action on managing water and land and tackling the climate emergency.
Drought is a hidden global crisis that risks becoming “the next pandemic” if countries do not take urgent action on water and land management and tackling the climate emergency, the UN has said.
At least 1.5 billion people have been directly affected by drought this century, and the economic cost over roughly that time has been estimated at $124bn (£89bn). The true cost is likely to be many times higher because such estimates do not include much of the impact in developing countries, according to a report published on Thursday.
Mami Mizutori, the UN secretary general’s special representative for disaster risk reduction, said: “Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic and there is no vaccine to cure it. Most of the world will be living with water stress in the next few years. Demand will outstrip supply during certain periods. Drought is a major factor in land degradation and the decline of yields for major crops.”
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The Guardian, 17 Jun 2021: ‘The next pandemic’: drought is a hidden global crisis, UN says
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