Earth On Brink Of Water Crisis, 2 billion Lack Safe Water: UN Report

Islamabad: The earth is on the brink of a water crisis, with an estimated 2 billion people still deprived of safe drinking water. The number of people worldwide without access to safe drinking water will double by 2050, according to a new UN report.

Amid warnings of an imminent water crisis that is likely to ‘spiral out of control’, nearly 1 billion people in cities around the world face water scarcity today, and the number is likely to reach between 1.7 billion and 2.4 billion within the next three decades, stated the UN World Water Development Report.

The Paris-based UN agency said that the demand for urban water is expected to rise by 80 per cent by 2050. According to the survey, water shortages are also happening more frequently in rural areas. Water shortages currently affect between 2 billion and 3 billion people for at least one month each year.

Nearly 1 billion people in cities around the world face water scarcity today, and the number is likely to reach between 1.7 billion and 2.4 billion within the next three decades: UN Report

“Immediate international mechanisms is required to stop the global water problem from spiralling out of control, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director General Audrey Azoulay said.

Water is our shared future, thus it is crucial that we work together to manage it responsibly and distribute it fairly. The report showed that 3.6 billion people worldwide lack access to securely managed sanitary facilities and two billion people do not have access to safe drinking water.

It is anticipated that by 2050, the number of urban dwellers who face water scarcity would have doubled, from 930 million in 2016 to between 1.7 and 2.4 billion.

The rising incidence of extreme and prolonged droughts is also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for both plant and animal species, the report said.

If we don’t solve it, there will absolutely be a global crisis: Report’s Editor-in-Chief Richard Connor

“If we don’t solve it, there will absolutely be a global crisis,” Report’s Editor-in-Chief Richard Connor said, citing the increasing scarcity that results from decreased supply and greater demand, including urban and industrial growth as well as agriculture which alone consumes 70 per cent of the global supply.

He emphasised that in order to fulfil human rights to water and get over current obstacles, partnerships and cooperation are essential.

Explaining the landscape of such shortages, Richard Connor stated that economic water scarcity is a major issue in areas where governments fail to give secure access, like in the centre of Africa, where water flows. The Middle East and northern India are two arid regions where physical scarcity is greatest.

The primary natural resource usually results in collaboration and peace rather than strife: Richard

Talking about possible ‘water wars’ in the face of a global crisis, Richard mentioned that the primary natural resource usually results in collaboration and peace rather than strife. Given that 153 nations share roughly 900 rivers, lakes, and aquifer systems and that more than half have agreements in place, strengthening transboundary cooperation is the primary strategy for preventing conflict and rising tensions.