Draughts have become an “unprecedented emergency” on a global scale and the massive impacts of human-induced droughts are “only starting to unfold,” found a two-year study newly released at the UN climate change conference ongoing in UAE’s Dubai. According to the “Global Drought Snapshot” report published by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at the outset of COP28 climate talks, the severe drought worldwide has claimed more lives, caused heavier economic loss, and affected more social sectors than any other disaster. The impacts are truly global. “We hope this publication serves as a wake-up call,” UNCCD quoted its Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw as saying on Thursday. He stressed the need for transformational change, warning that with droughts increasing in frequency and severity, reservoir levels and crop yields are declining and famine is spreading.
