From Somalia to mainland Europe, the past two years have seen some of the most ravaging droughts in recorded history, made worse by climate change, according to a UN-backed report.
Describing drought as a ‘silent killer’ which ‘creeps in, drains resources and devastates lives in slow motion’ the report said it had exacerbated issues like poverty and ecosystem collapse.
It highlighted impacts in Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America and Southeast Asia, including an estimated 4.4 million people in Somalia facing crisis-level food insecurity at the beginning of this year, according to BBC News.
The report recommends governments prepare for a ‘new normal’ with measures including stronger early warning systems.
“This is a slow-moving global catastrophe, the worst I’ve ever seen,” said co-author Dr Mark Svoboda, founding director of the US National Drought Mitigation Centre.
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