"A growing population and rising temperatures will strain the world’s freshwater supplies over the next 30 years, jeopardizing available water for drinking, bathing and growing food, according to new research.
An analysis of newly released data from the World Resources Institute (WRI) shows that by 2050 an additional billion people will be living in arid areas and regions with high water stress, where at least 40 percent of the renewable water supply is consumed each year. Two-fifths of the world’s population — 3.3 billion people in total — currently live in such areas.
Water stress is a measure of how much demand there is for an area’s available water supply. A higher score means more people are competing for water.
WRI used a global hydrological model to estimate how renewable water sources — such as rivers and lakes, which are replenished through precipitation — might change under future climate change scenarios. According to their analysis, the Middle East and North Africa regions have the highest level of water stress in the world. Climate change is shifting traditional precipitation patterns, making the regions drier and reducing their already scarce water supplies. Population growth and industrial use of water are expected to increase demand."
Veronica Penney and John Muyskens report for the Washington Post August 16, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"Extreme Water Stress Faced By Countries Home To Quarter Of World Population" (Guardian)
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