Extremely High Water Stress Affects One-Fourth of the World’s Population

25 nations, home to a quarter of the world’s population, are shown to be under very severe water stress. The Middle East, South Asia, and Africa are where the most are found.

In other words, demand for water is outpacing supply due to ongoing droughts that are eroding water levels and causing water stress around the planet. And nothing is going to change soon. Nearly 60% of the world’s population may experience significant water stress for at least a month of the year by 2050. The World Resources Institute (WRI), which just released data from its Aqueduct Water danger Atlas, outlining the nations most at danger of water shortages, has come to these disturbing conclusions. It lists Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Oman as the top five nations with the biggest water shortages. According to the WRI, the main causes of the water stress in these nations are the limited supply and high demand for household, agricultural, and industrial usage.

A quarter of the world’s population lives in 25 nations that have very high annual water stress, which means that more than 80% of their renewable water resources are being consumed for household, industrial, and agricultural uses. In contrast, a nation experiencing “extreme water stress” utilizes at least 80% of its supplies, and a nation experiencing “high water stress” only uses 40% of its reserves. The survey states that South Asia (74%), followed by North Africa and the Middle East (83%), are the areas where people are most adversely affected.

The WRI cautions that global demand for water is outpacing supply. According to the organization, since 1960, worldwide demand “has more than doubled.While rising water stress has mostly been caused by expanding people and industry, the WRI also points to other contributing factors such “lack of investment in water infrastructure, unsustainable water use policies, or increased variability due to climate change.”