UN Report Warns Growing Number of People Face Water Scarcity

UN Report Warns , Growing Number of People , Face Water Scarcity.

On March 21, the United Nations released a report warning that 26% of the world's population, approximately 2 billion people, lack access to safe drinking water.

.

According to NPR, the report comes on the eve of the U.N.'s first conference on the topic of water in over 45 years.

.

The U.N.'s World Water Development Report 2023 revealed that 46% of people lack access to basic sanitation globally, equal to about 3.6 billion people.

.

NPR reports that the U.N.

Has laid out a goal to ensure that all people in the world have access to clean water by 2030.

According to Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the report, meeting the goal will require somewhere between $600 billion and $1 trillion per year.

.

Connor said that with 70% of the world's water use going to agriculture, it becomes critical for irrigation to be more efficient.

.

According to the U.N.'s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report, as climate change continues, water scarcity is expected to increase.

.

Seasonal water scarcity will increase in regions where it is currently abundant — such as Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America — and worsen in regions where water is already in short supply, such as the Middle East and the Sahara in Africa, World Water Development Report 2023, via NPR.

An increase in intensity or frequency of droughts and 'heat extremes' can be expected in most regions as a direct result of climate change.

The UNESCO report states that an average of 10% of the world's population already lives in an area with high or critical water stress.