Drought and water scarcity are a looming crisis that could cause damage on the scale of the coronavirus pandemic, a new UN report says. “Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic and there is no vaccine to cure it,” Mami Mizutori, the UN secretary general’s special representative for disaster risk reduction, told reporters. “Most of the world will be living with water stress in the next few years. Demand will outstrip supply during certain periods. Drought is a major factor in land degradation and the decline of yields for major crops.” (Thomson Reuters Foundation, The Guardian, The Hill; Climate Signals background: Drought)