Context:
State of Global Water Resources 2022 report which offers an overview of water resources worldwide was released by WMO recently.
Key Highlights:
- River discharge: Over 50% of global catchments and reservoirs showed deviations, mostly drier than usual.
- Soil moisture and evapotranspiration: Anomalies in soil moisture and evapotranspiration also matched the deviations noted in river discharge conditions.
Soil moisture: It influences exchange of water and energy fluxes at land surface/atmosphere interface and impacts streamflow generation.
Evapotranspiration is the process by which water is evaporated, from soil or vegetation surface.
- Snow cover and glaciers:
- Asian Water Tower (AWT): From 2000 to 2018, total glacier mass in region decreased by approximately 4.3%.
- During 1980–2018, annual river run-off across most of AWT showed a significant increase in river such as the upper Indus.
AWT includes Tibetan Plateau, Himalayas, Karakorum, Hindu Kush, the Pamirs, and Tien Shan Mountains – collectively called the Third Pole.
About World Meteorological Organization (WMO):
- An intergovernmental organization.
- A specialised agency of the United Nations.
- HQ: Geneva
- Genesis: Established by WMO Convention in 1950.
- Mandate: International cooperation for Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the land and oceans, the weather and climate it produces, and resulting distribution of water resources.
- Members: 187 Member States and 6 Member Territories (including India)
Source: Down to Earth
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: According to the United Nations’ World Water Development Report, 2022, India extracts more than a quarter of the world’s groundwater withdrawal each year.
Statement-II: India needs to extract more than a quarter of the world’s groundwater each year to satisfy the drinking water and sanitation needs of almost 18% of world’s population living in its territory.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-ll is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-ll is correct
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
About 89% of this groundwater is used in India for irrigation. Hence, Statement 2 is not correct.
