Marking its 70th anniversary, the World
Meteorological Organization reminds us of the importance of water resource management.
By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ
“Count every drop, every drop counts: that is the
theme for this year’s celebration of World Meteorological Day (WMD), observed
on 23 March.
Water and climate change: inextricably linked
In a message to mark the occasion, United Nations
Secretary-General, António Guterres, notes that this year’s World
Meteorological Day theme is the same as that of World Water Day.
The aim of uniting the two observances, which fall
on 22 and 23 March respectively, is to highlight the role of water in the
climate debate and its effect in the attainment of global sustainable
development goals.
According to World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas, the effects of climate changes are
felt mostly through water.
“More floods, more droughts, more pollution…these
climate and water-related shocks respect no natural boundaries.”
“Let us count every drop, because every drop counts”
Noting that the growing demands on the world’s
water resources are leading towards a crisis, the UN Secretary-General calls
for better management.
“We need to manage climate and water in a more
coordinated and sustainable manner to address the urgent need for improved
forecasting, monitoring and management of water supplies and to tackle the
problem of too much, too little or too polluted water.”
Antonio Guterres also advocates for improved
hydrological monitoring as “we cannot manage what we do not measure” and
therefore have to “count every drop because every drop counts.”
According to the World Meteorological Organization,
25% of the world’s population, 2 billion people, live in countries with severe
water scarcity. By 2050, the demand for water is expected to be 25 to 30%
higher than today.
The Church, climate and water resources
In his 2015 Encyclical on care for our common home,
Laudato si’, Pope Francis touches on the disparity of access to water and the
quality of water available to the poor. The Encyclical refers to safe drinking
water as “a basic and universal human right, since it is essential to human
survival, and as such, is a condition for the exercise of other human rights.”
Laudato si’ also identifies climate as “a common
good, belonging to all and meant for all.” It also calls for waste reduction
and for increased attention to the moral, social and economic consequences of
human interaction with nature.
World Meteorological Day commemorates the coming
into effect of the convention that established the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) on 23 March 1950. The WMO is the United Nations’
specialized agency for coordinating international cooperation on the state of
the Earth’s atmosphere, the weather and climate it produces, and the
distribution of water resources.
