World Meteorological Congress 2021

• 23 Oct 2021

Why in News

Recently, the World Meteorological Congress 2021 has endorsed a Water Declaration, including the Water and Climate Coalition.

• It has also approved a new vision and strategy for hydrology and an associated plan of action.

World Meteorological Congress

• The World Meteorological Congress is the supreme body of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). WMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations for meteorology, operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences. India is a member. It produces annually the State of the Global Climate Report.

Key Points

• Concerns:
  • Only 40% of countries globally have operational early flood and drought warning systems.
  • Some 60% of WMO member countries lack hydrological monitoring capabilities. Globally, more than three billion people have no quality management system for their water-related data in place.
    • It means close to half of the world’s population is at risk due to a lack of information on the state of their water resources including rivers, lakes, groundwater, according to the most recent United Nation (UN) estimates.
  • Some 107 countries are not on track to have sustainably managed water resources.
• Water Declaration:
  • By 2030 early warnings for early action related to floods and droughts will be available for people everywhere on the planet to access.
  • Policies for water and climate action developed within the sustainable development agenda will be integrated to yield maximum benefit for people.
  • Members will pursue these goals through partnerships for capacity development, knowledge exchange and information sharing, etc.
• Water and Climate Coalition:
  • The coalition is made for promoting sharing and access to integrated hydrological, cryosphere, meteorological and climate information.
  • It aims to boost resilient water adaptation to climate change as well as demographic and socio-economic development for the future.
  • It is also aimed at accelerating the progress of water-related United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG6 (water and sanitation for all).
• Hydrology Action Plan:
  • Impact Based Early Warning System:
    • There should be impact-based end-to-end Early Warning Systems (EWS) for flood forecasting in the context of a broader integrated flood management strategy implemented by Members, including through the Associated Programme on Flood Management.
    • Congress approved a new Sustainability Strategy for the future development and implementation of the Flash Flood Guidance System with Global Coverage.
  • Water Resource & Quality Assessment:
    • The concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) including water use and allocations for supporting food production should be widely accepted and followed.
  • Reducing Impact of Droughts:
    • Members should reduce adverse impacts of drought at all levels by implementing integrated drought management systems, including drought monitoring, early warnings, vulnerability and impact assessments, and drought mitigation, preparedness and response measures.
  • Food Security:
    • Food security should be enhanced by informed end-users' decisions at all levels from regional to local.
  • High Quality Data:
    • There should be increased discoverability, availability, and use of high-quality hydrological and hydrometeorological data for scientific analysis, as promoted by the Global Hydrometry Support Facility (HydroHub).
  • Research and Application of Operational Hydrology:
    • There should be a reduced gap between research and operational hydrology applications; operational hydrology uses improved understanding of Earth system science.

Related Indian Initiatives

• MGNREGA for water conservation.
• Jal Kranti Abhiyan.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan.
• National Rural Drinking Water Programme.
• NITI Aayog Composite Water Management Index.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana.
• Jal Shakti Ministry and Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Command Area Development.

Source: DTE