A UN report warns that the world is facing an imminent global water crisis that threatens to “spin out of control” as demand for water increases and the impacts of the climate crisis intensify, putting enormous pressure on water resources.
Water consumption has increased by 1% a year over the past 40 years, driven by population growth and changing consumption patterns, according to a UN report on world water development released Tuesday, a major UN meeting in New York. Published ahead of the Water Summit.
By 2050, the report expects the number of people in cities facing water scarcity to double from 930 million people in 2016 to 2.4 billion. Urban water demand is expected to increase by 80% by 2050.
Richard Connor, the report’s lead author, said at a press conference announcing the report that unless action is taken to address water scarcity, there will be a “global crisis.”
“Disastrous Effects”
Water availability is already a major problem. Two billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation, the report said.
About 10% of the world’s population already lives in countries with high or critical water stress.
Urban and industrial growth and agriculture add to the existing deficit, with agriculture alone using 70% of the world’s water supply, Connor said.
Seasonal water scarcity is expected to increase in currently water-rich areas, including parts of Central Africa, East Asia and South America. At the same time, water shortages in the Middle East and Africa’s Sahel region, which are already water-scarce, will increase.
The authors of the report said that frequent and severe droughts caused by the climate crisis are stressing ecosystems that can have “catastrophic consequences” for plant and animal species.
Boats are parked on California’s drought-stricken Lake Shasta. October 16, 2022. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images/File
A man exercises his legs in front of the Yamuna River in New Delhi, India. The lake is filled with toxic waste from industrial and domestic discharges. March 19, 2023. Photo: Mayank Mahija/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Solutions include better international cooperation to avoid water-related conflicts, Connor said.
Flood and pollution control, data sharing and efforts to reduce planet-warming pollution levels should “open the door to greater cooperation and increase access to water finance,” he argued.
“There is an urgent need to establish strong international mechanisms to prevent the global water crisis from spiraling out of control,” said Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the UN’s cultural body, UNESCO.
“Water is our common future, and we need to work together to share it equitably and manage it sustainably.”