Environment

Thawing alert: UN warns about the food of 2 billion people

Por: Giannina Nigro

The melting ice sets a feared pace for many basic activities that allow life on the planet.

While glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate, the UN’s annual water report warns of the terrible impact that this melting can have on humanity’s basic needs.

Melting ice and warning: what does the UN report say?

“The world’s mountains and glaciers provide essential fresh water for life to billions of people and countless ecosystems,” the report reads.

The danger of melting ice in Greenland. The danger of melting ice.

In addition, mountain waters are necessary for food and energy security for people living in mountainous regions and their surroundings, as well as in downstream areas.

On the other hand, two-thirds of worldwide irrigation agriculture is likely to be affected by the retreat of mountain glaciers and the decrease in snowfall in mountainous regions, according to the UN.

Nearly half of the people living in mountainous regions of developing countries already suffer from food insecurity. A situation that is likely to worsen with the melting of snow and glaciers, according to the report.

Drinking water

Moreover, in 2022, 2.2 billion people lacked access to drinking water and 3.5 billion lacked access to safely managed sanitation services. This could also be worsened by melting ice.

The record loss of glacier mass.

In addition to the risks for developing countries, developed nations also face risks. The Colorado River basin in the United States, for example, has been experiencing a drought since 2000, exacerbated by rising temperatures. This causes precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow, reported The Guardian.

Record loss of glaciers

The findings come a few days after the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that the last three years saw the largest loss of glacier mass on record.

Moreover, a study published in February in the journal Nature concluded that half of the world’s glacier mass would be lost by the end of the century if global warming continues at the current pace.

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