Over Half of World's Largest Cities Face Water Scarcity
A stunning 38 out of 100 largest cities globally are now experiencing "extremely high water stress", according to a groundbreaking analysis by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian. This means that public water supply and industrial withdrawals have reached or exceeded available supplies, largely due to poor management of water resources exacerbated by climate change.
Cities like Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, and Delhi are among those facing extreme stress, while London, Bangkok, and Jakarta are classified as being highly stressed. However, satellite data reveals that cities in regions showing strong wetting trends include Tokyo, Lagos, and Kampala, where water levels have been rising over the past two decades.
Conversely, places like Chennai, Tehran, and Zhengzhou are experiencing strong drying trends, affecting approximately 1.1 billion people living in major metropolitan areas located in these drying zones, compared to around 96 million in regions showing wetting trends.
Climate change is a significant contributor to water scarcity, but poor management of water resources often exacerbates the issue. The United Nations University Institute for Water Environment and Health has warned that the world has entered a state of "water bankruptcy", where deterioration of some water resources has become permanent and irreversible.
The World Bank Group has also sounded the alarm, stating that global freshwater reserves have plummeted sharply over the past 20 years. According to the group, the planet is losing around 324 billion cubic metres of freshwater every year, enough to meet the annual needs of approximately 280 million people.
By 2055, England is projected to require an additional 5 billion litres of water per day to meet public water supply demand, more than a third of the current 14 billion litres. The government has recently published a water white paper aimed at overhauling the water system, including establishing a new chief engineer role and new powers for a water regulator.
Experts warn that without sustained monitoring and better management, water scarcity will continue to worsen, posing significant challenges to urban centres like those in drying zones, where water shortages could become a pressing issue.
A stunning 38 out of 100 largest cities globally are now experiencing "extremely high water stress", according to a groundbreaking analysis by Watershed Investigations and the Guardian. This means that public water supply and industrial withdrawals have reached or exceeded available supplies, largely due to poor management of water resources exacerbated by climate change.
Cities like Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, and Delhi are among those facing extreme stress, while London, Bangkok, and Jakarta are classified as being highly stressed. However, satellite data reveals that cities in regions showing strong wetting trends include Tokyo, Lagos, and Kampala, where water levels have been rising over the past two decades.
Conversely, places like Chennai, Tehran, and Zhengzhou are experiencing strong drying trends, affecting approximately 1.1 billion people living in major metropolitan areas located in these drying zones, compared to around 96 million in regions showing wetting trends.
Climate change is a significant contributor to water scarcity, but poor management of water resources often exacerbates the issue. The United Nations University Institute for Water Environment and Health has warned that the world has entered a state of "water bankruptcy", where deterioration of some water resources has become permanent and irreversible.
The World Bank Group has also sounded the alarm, stating that global freshwater reserves have plummeted sharply over the past 20 years. According to the group, the planet is losing around 324 billion cubic metres of freshwater every year, enough to meet the annual needs of approximately 280 million people.
By 2055, England is projected to require an additional 5 billion litres of water per day to meet public water supply demand, more than a third of the current 14 billion litres. The government has recently published a water white paper aimed at overhauling the water system, including establishing a new chief engineer role and new powers for a water regulator.
Experts warn that without sustained monitoring and better management, water scarcity will continue to worsen, posing significant challenges to urban centres like those in drying zones, where water shortages could become a pressing issue.
cities are literally running out of water it's crazy! i remember my kids were always playing with water when they were little and now it's all about rationing water at home too 
we need to do better, governments need to step up their game on managing our resources 
and climate change is making it so much harder to predict water levels 
i've been reading about the effects of droughts in different cities and it's heartbreaking what people have to go through 
it's crazy to think that over half of the biggest cities worldwide are struggling with water stress 
. I mean, we're talking about major hubs like Tokyo and Lagos, which have been experiencing a rise in water levels 
, but others like Delhi and Rio are facing extreme shortages 
. Climate change is definitely playing a big role, but it's also clear that our management of water resources has been pretty sloppy 
. I mean, 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater lost every year? That's just insane! 
We need to get our act together and start taking care of these vital resources. England's projected water needs by 2055 are staggering, and it's not hard to imagine how that would affect daily life 
. We really do need better management and monitoring to avoid exacerbating this issue 
.
. and 1.1 billion people are affected by drying trends? that's a huge number... i think we need to come up with a new strategy for water conservation ASAP 
. seriously though, we need to take this issue more seriously and find solutions before it's too late 
its so bad!! i mean we all no climate change is a big deal but poor management of water resources makes it even worse 
meanwhile london & bangkok r doin better 
when England is supposed to need even more water than they do now. my parents are always talking about how important it is to conserve resources and take care of the environment. I guess this is like, a big reminder that we need to be careful with our water too 
, but cities like Chennai are being totally wiped out by drying trends 
. Its not just about climate change, its about how we manage our resources. We need to wake up and take responsibility for our water usage or were gonna be in big trouble 
i mean, climate change is no joke, but poor management of resources is even worse. it's crazy that we're already losing 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater every year... that's like draining a huge ocean 
. it's all about balance, people! we need to be more mindful of our consumption habits and work together as a global community to conserve this precious resource 
it's crazy how climate change is playin such a big role in it, but poor management is like, the icing on the cake 
we can't keep relyin on ancient systems and expect them to magically work anymore... 
. I'm glad the government is taking steps to overhaul our water system, like establishing a new chief engineer role and giving more powers to a water regulator. We need more transparency and accountability when it comes to managing our water resources.
. Tokyo, Lagos, and Kampala - those places are doing something right! But we need to learn from them and figure out how to scale up their success stories to other regions.
. We need to take action now to protect our water resources and ensure that everyone has access to clean drinking water