In 2024, the world experienced the disruption of the global water cycle resulting to hurricanes and catastrophes including the Wayanad landslide in India. The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report reveals that climate change has changed the movement of water around the globe, causing extreme weather, which has impacted more than three billion people.
GLOBAL WATER CYCLE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Water cycle is a process through which the water transfers between the surface of the earth, seas and the air. It is life supporting and helps to control the weather cycles. But climate change has escalated this cycle because the temperatures have gone up and cause more water to evaporate. Warm temperatures are able to contain more moisture resulting in severe and frequent precipitation events. This has led to different states experiencing great floods; at the same period other areas experience droughts.
Extreme Weather Phenomena in 2024
According to the 2024 Global Water Monitor and Early Warning Report, extreme weather events happened due to disruption of the water cycle. It was found that record – high monthly rainfalls were set 27 % more often in the period over the year 2000 than at the turn of the century in comparison to 38 % more frequent record. These continue extreme weather events led to serious consequences such as losses of life and property.
Wayanad Landslides: A Case Study
Among all the other catastrophes of the year 2024, one of the most catastrophic was the Wayanad landslides in India. These disasters ensued from the 409 mm, continuous rain that was recorded in this simulation in July 2024 and led to loss of 375 lives, displacement of 10,000 residents, and loss of $140 million besides triggering off landslides. This calamity struck at least made people realize how climate change affects these areas harder than the other threatens it.
Economic and Human Impact
The cost of last year’s hydrological catastrophes reached $550+ billion; more than 8700 died, 40 million were affected. Both have made people become more aware of the need for responding to the effects of climate change in order to prevent their impact on societies.
The Future of the Water Cycle
However climatologists warn that as the temperature raises the water cycle will become even more unpredictable. The shortage of water and disruptions of the water cycle are also stressed in the report to call for the immediate cuts in greenhouse gases emissions and preparations for extreme weather.
Global Water Monitor Report 2024 is a wakeup call to the world over climate change. Disruption of water cycle and extreme weather events has affected humanity and natural systems very badly. There is also the need for governments, organizations and people to act urgently in order to limit greenhouse gas emissions and respond to climate change.
Principal Factors through Which the Global Water Cycle is Been Disrupted by 2024
The unnatural disturbance of the water cycle on-going in 2024 witnessed intensive extreme climate conditions and disastrous natural disasters including the Wayanad tragedy of India. It is therefore important to have a clear understanding of some of the ways in which this disruption started in the first place, in an effort to fight climate change and manage its effects. Some of causes include:
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Among the most profound causes of the alteration of the water cycle in the global setting is a change in the emission of the greenhouse gases. Activities like combusting motor fuels, burning fossil fuels for industrial processes, and felling trees pump a significant number of CO2, CH4, and other Green House gases into the atmosphere. These gases promote heat trapping and this is indisputably synonymous to the global warming. Due to global warming more water is pumped from seas, lakes, and rivers into the atmosphere leading to an enhancement of the water cycle.
Deforestation
Alterations of forests, forests are cleared for agriculture, urban development and otherwise, significantly affect the water cycle. Transpiration is the process through which trees and forests take up water from the ground and release it into the air. When forests dense are cut, this process is interfered and hence gives rise to changes in precipitation in localized and regional areas. Reduced tree cover, poses the potential danger of soil erosion thus resulting to aspects such as landslides.
Urbanization
One way that urbanization, the act of making and growing cities and towns, disrupts the water cycle is that it covers the land so that the water has to run off instead of being soaked up, or evaporated. Infrastructure development such as construction of buildings and roads intervenes with the natural grounds removing a natural surface that water percolates into. This accelerates the water flow at the surface hence enhancing floods by contributing a lot of water to the few control structures available. Thirdly, urban areas create heat-islands that alter climate by actually heating up the otherwise cooler lands and strengthening storms.
Changes in Land Use
Land use transformation meant that wetlands turned into agricultural or urban land also affects the water cycle. Wetlands hence act as natural barriers charging and discharging water slowly preventing floods. When wetlands are being converted for agriculture use or developed for construction purposes, this natural regulation are eliminated resulting to high runoff and hence high flood risk in the region. This change in how a land is used also affects the climate and therefore the water cycle as well is disrupted.
Floods
Global warming is contributing to an increase in extreme weather occurrences. With warmer temperatures comes stronger and more and frequent storms which include hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones. Such types of storms have potential to inflect severe floods, landslides and other disasters. Also, owing to global warming, glaciers and polar ice caps are melting; sea levels are rising, and ocean currents are changing. These changes are already able to alter the weather and exacerbate the problems presented by disturbances in the water cycle.
Agricultural Practices
Irrigation, fertilizing and pesticide application for agriculture can have effect on water cycle. Irrigation raises water evaporation, increase humidity and add new water vapour into the local climate thus changing precipitation. Chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticide result in water pollution hence changes in the quality of water needed for other uses. It is also a fact that a large portion of agricultural land expansion leads to deforestation and land use change, which in turns contributes to disruption of water cycle.
Why It Is Important to Implement mitigations as Soon as Possible
It is high time to begin thinking about climate change as there remains no turning back in ending this social injustice. The altered global water cycle in 2024 as evidenced by climatic changes, natural calamities including landslides in Wayanad calls for intervention. Measures of adaptation are necessary in order to reduce further effects of climate change, look after endangered populations, and promote sustainable development. Here are several compelling reasons why adopting mitigations as soon as possible is crucial:
Preventing Irreversible Damage
Global warming is making harm to planet earth that cannot be corrected. Global warming, shrinking ice caps and seas, and increased number of hurricanes and tornadoes are signs of the changing climate system. If we fail to address them promptly, we are headed for a situation whereby some of the consequences mentioned will be beyond any measurable degree. For instance, destruction of polar ice caps can lead to high rates of sea level rise, arise to floods coastal cities as well as displace millions of people. There is no way such damage can be prevented, if early mitigation efforts are not taken.
Preservation of the Vulnerable Populaces
People that have been marginalized or otherwise affected are the worst affected especially in the developing world. Such collective depends on organizers and personnel for survival and for this reason; they cannot afford to respond to natural disasters like floods, draughts or hurricanes. And when these actions are implemented right way, the said incidents may be minimized alongside less difficulty experienced by the vulnerable groups of populace. This means establishing warning and protective structures; and offering funds to those who need it.
Economic Benefits
The costs of inaction are just huge from the economic point of view. Disasters like the Wayanad landslides cut a straight bill of billions of dollars besides the loss of many lives. There is money to be saved in prevention as compared to its spending in response to disasters and recovery processes. In the same respect, changing to a low-carbon economy is also known to generate employment and growth of the economy. Wind and solar power sources are steadily gaining in efficiency and may offer a practical solution to the use of traditional fuel resources.
Preserving Biodiversity
Climate change is primary concern for todays world. The population of various plant and animals for instance has been forced to measure up to the advanced changes that are taking place within their environments with the result that the rates of extinction are increasing. Measurement and control strategies, which include emission cuts and successful conservation of biomes, may also contribute to these ends. In this regard, the services from healthy ecosystems include; production of clean air and water, pollination of crop plants, moderation of climate among others. That way, protecting the species we share the planet with will help maintain stability in the ecosystems our planet.
Enhancing Public Health
Climate change has both primary and secondary effects on the people’s health. A warming climate makes heat waves, air pollution and vectors borne diseases worse. Such health risks can be minimized through mitigation activities of enhanced air quality, sustainable agriculture and transportation. Also, diversifying our source of energy means that there shall be fewer cases of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that originate from emissions.
International Partnership and Management
Climate change presents a global problem in that requires intelligent collaboration of world leaders. Thus, the adoption of mitigations now will depict countries as responsible global citizens and lock into place the sustainable future that is required for the world. Treaties including the Paris Agreement present a structure that allows countries to act collectively as well as held accountable. Thus, it is possible to build a strong cooperation in terms of knowledge, materials, and technology to fight climate changes.
It is equally valid to state that the sooner one embraces mitigations, the better it will be. The use of contingency is to avoid negative consequences which are devastating, eradicate of vulnerable groups, achievement of economic value, stop on ecosystem loss, improvement of public health and support of international relations. The disrupted global water cycle in 2024 should act as a powerful reminder of this problem’s existence. If individuals take subsequent actions in preventing climate change, then the world will be capable of being defendable for future generations.