WMO has approved the development of HydroSOS following a five-year pilot project led by UKCEH. This scoped the requirements for the system, drew up guidelines for consistent reporting of hydrological conditions and established that there was sufficient international interest in the initiative.
WMO estimates there may be a 40 percent gap between global water supply and demand by 2030. Other experts have estimated drought costs up to $8 billion a year from losses in agricultural and related businesses, and damage from flooding is $80 billion a year.
“HydroSOS will increase communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate change by improving water and food security as well as reducing poverty,” said Elena Manaenkova, Deputy Secretary-General of WMO. “Therefore, it is a key initiative in accelerating global progress towards several UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All.”
A key feature of the system will be the way in which it supports the development of scientific capacity within hydrological and meteorological organizations around the world, helping these agencies to generate and share high-quality information about their water resources.
Scientists and funders across the world who are interested in being part of HydroSOS are now being asked to come forward and collaborate to enhance global capacity to monitor, predict, and report water-related information for their respective countries and regions.
HydroSOS will provide interested WMO Members with equipment to measure and report water data. The hydrological information gathered will help reduce economic losses and deaths due to droughts and floods.
