The UN warns of unbearable heat and water shortages

The emergence of “unbearable heat” for humans, depletion of groundwater or accelerated extinction are some of the risks to fundamental socio-ecological systems identified this Wednesday in a report by the United Nations University.

The experts in this study recommend that solutions be taken which attack the root causes of these phenomena in order to avoid themmore so than others designed to accommodate them.

In his view, these risks will lead to “drastic changes” if not properly addressed.

Report on Interrelated disaster risks in 2023published by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), based in Bonn (West Germany), warns of six “tipping points” of these risks.

These are accelerated extinctions, depletion of groundwater, melting of mountain glaciers, space pollution, unbearable heat and, in general, a future that cannot be insured.

The study explains that when ecosystem, food system or water system worsen, “it is usually not a simple and predictable process. “On the contrary, instability builds slowly until a tipping point is suddenly reached and the system changes fundamentally or even collapses, with potentially catastrophic effects.”

Such moments are defined as those in which “a certain social-ecological system is no longer capable of mitigating risks and providing the intended functions, after which the risk of catastrophic effects for these systems increases significantly.”

The aquifers are exhausted
The report warns that tipping points go beyond individual areas of climate, ecosystems, society or technology.

It states that they are intrinsically interconnected and closely related to human activities and life.

An example of a tipping point is related to groundwater depletion, and remember that aquifers are an essential freshwater resource worldwide, supplying drinking water to more than 2 billion people.

“Eye 70% of groundwater pumping It is used for agriculture, often because there is not enough water from surface sources. “Currently, aquifers help mitigate half of agricultural losses caused by drought, a phenomenon that is only expected to increase in the future due to climate change.”

The report warns that more than half of the world’s largest aquifers are being depleted faster than they can be naturally replenished.

“If the groundwater level drops below the level that existing wells can access, farmers could suddenly find themselves without access to water.”

Transformative change
As for what the study described as “unbearable heat” – a consequence of human-caused climate change that is causing global temperatures to rise – it is said to produce more frequent and more intense heat waves “than in some” zones will reach temperatures where the human body can no longer survive.”

In this regard, UN experts point out that the installation of air conditioning is a typical solution that “adapts and postpones” this risk.

In his opinion, the solution that tends to “avoidance and transformation” of the situation “would aim to stop greenhouse gas emissions and, at the same time, drive social change towards low-carbon lifestyles so that the tipping point can ultimately be avoided.”

The report states that the ideal action to take is “transformation”, which involves fundamentally re-engineering a “stronger, more sustainable system”.

The report concludes that solutions currently being implemented focus more on delay than transformation, “although there is an increasing emphasis on transformative change to achieve global transition goals towards a more sustainable future.”

“More game-changing solutions will be needed to move away from a future where risk tipping points multiply.”