The Director General of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), Sani
Mashi said the use of biofuels contribute in no small measure to water
scarcity.
The adoption of biofuel is to mitigate climate change but on the flip side it worsens water scarcity. According to Mashi who said this in his address
to commemorate the 2020 World Meteorological Day, biofuels which are derived directly
from living matter, exacerbate the scarcity of water.
He said, “Some climate change mitigation measures such as
the expanded use of biofuels are exacerbating water scarcity. Therefore,
climate and water data underpin the management of surface-water supplies and
disaster risk reduction.
“These include calculations of the frequency and duration of
heavy rainfall, the probable maximum precipitation and flood forecasting.”
Mashi observed that one major impact of climate change was
water, either making it too little or sometimes too much for human survival and
comfort.
This, he said, posed serious threat to sustainable
development and security.
The World Meteorological Day is marked every 23rd
March annually. The 2020 theme is “Count Every Drop, Every Drop Counts.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), there
is an urgent need to improve forecasting, monitoring and management of water
supplies and to tackle the problem of "too much, too little or too polluted
water."
