Quarter of the world faces 'extreme water stress'

Washington: A quarter of the world population faces extremely high water stress according to a global research organisation.

The World Resources Institute's (WRI) updated Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas found that 17 countries, including India, face “extremely high” water stress. Collectively, the countries are home to a quarter of the world’s population.

In the 17 countries facing extremely high water stress, agriculture, industry, and municipalities are drinking up 80 percent of available surface and groundwater in an average year. When demand rivals supply, even small dry shocks – which are set to increase due to climate change – can produce dire consequences.

“Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about. Its consequences are in plain sight in the form of food insecurity, conflict and migration, and financial instability.” said Dr Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, in a press release issued by the organisation.

“The newly updated Aqueduct tools allow users to better see and understand water risks and make smart decisions to manage them. A new generation of solutions is emerging, but nowhere near fast enough. Failure to act will be massively expensive in human lives and livelihoods.”

Aqueduct sheds light on hot spots for water risk around the world. For example, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, home to 12 of the 17 countries facing “extremely high” stress, experts have pinpointed water scarcity as a force that can exacerbate conflict and migration. The organisation listed Qatar, Israel, and Lebanon as the most water stressed countries in the world.

India, ranked #13 on Aqueduct’s list of “extremely highly” water stressed countries, has more than three times the population of the other 16 countries in this category combined. Northern India faces severe groundwater depletion, visualised on Aqueduct’s maps and included in calculations of water stress for the first time.

“The recent water crisis in Chennai gained global attention, but various areas in India are experiencing chronic water stress as well,” said Shashi Shekhar, former Secretary of India’s Ministry of Water Resources, and Senior Fellow, WRI India. “India can manage its water risk with the help of reliable and robust data pertaining to rainfall, surface, and groundwater to develop strategies that strengthen resilience. Aqueduct can help identify and prioritise water risks in India and around the world."