IPCC: Climate change is intensifying the water cycle

The headline from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is stark: climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying, and urgent action is needed to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Some of the most noticeable impacts come from the way climate change is intensifying the water cycle, bringing more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense drought in many regions.

Water security and the climate resilience of water and sanitation systems are critical to the stability of global society and to sustainable development efforts.

• Explore the IPCC report here. Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis. (This report is the first instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, which will be completed in 2022).