Page - 4 - in options, Volume winter 2019

News in brief Water stress is already a serious issue in 22 countries around the world, particularly in North Africa and Western, Central, and South Asia – and it is expected to get worse. Projections show that the clock is ticking for other countries too. As climate change alters the hydrological cycle and water use grows at more than twice the rate of population increase, more and more countries will experience water stress. Increasing drought and desertification are further worsening these trends. By 2050, at least one in four people will suffer recurring water shortages. Future water scarcity or water stress will not only affect less developed parts of the world, but also industrialized countries like Australia and Cyprus. The share of these countries’ population affected by water scarcity is likely to rise from 27% and 21% in 2016 to 46% and 62% by 2030, respectively. The Water Scarcity Clock, jointly developed by IIASA, the World Data Lab, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), provides decision makers with a way to explore these projections. The web application worldwater.io allows anyone to monitor the number of people around the globe suffering from water scarcity in real time. “The water scarcity clock is a striking visual tool that helps policymakers, the media, and the broader public to get a quick impression of what water scarcity is all about and how fast it is affecting more and more people globally because of population growth and climate change,” says IIASA Water Program researcher Robert Burtscher. The Water Scarcity Clock Robert Burtscher: burtsche@iiasa.ac.at Further info: www.iiasa.ac.at/news/Water-scarcity-clock-19 One in nine people around the world are currently undernourished, and nearly half of deaths in children under five are caused by poor nutrition. One of the consequences of poor child nutrition is impaired growth and development – or stunting – which currently affects at least one in three children in hunger-stricken parts of the developing world. The burden is particularly heavy in Africa and parts of South Asia, where conflict and political fragility are more prevalent. Climate impacts, such as temperature extremes and drought add to the burden, especially on children in developing countries where many people are dependent on subsistence farming and rain-fed agriculture. In a study involving IIASA researchers, scientists explored in detail which areas are most vulnerable to climate shocks, and which factors influence resilience to childhood undernutrition and stunting. The study provides actionable suggestions for NGOs and international organizations working to fight childhood undernutrition. “We found that a number of factors can make children resilient to droughts, such as good governance, nutritionally diverse crops, higher levels of imports per capita, overall crop production, and irrigation,” explains study lead author Matthew Cooper, who started this work as part of the 2018 IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program. “By assessing all of these factors quantitatively, we were able to identify the places that were the most vulnerable to drought. These were predominantly arid, poorly governed countries with little trade, including Chad, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.” How climate change affects hunger Matthew Cooper: cooperm@iiasa.ac.at Further info: pure.iiasa.ac.at/16028 Expected decrease in mean child height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) during drought conditions. 4 Options www.iiasa.ac.atWinter 2019/20