The Water Crisis

Access to safe water is considered a universal human right, yet one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and some two billion live without properly sanitized water.

One of the Millennium Development Goals is to extend access to safe drinking water and sanitation, but climate change poses a major barrier to achieving this goal.

People in the developing world are the most vulnerable to the water-related consequences of climate change since most people in these countries already suffer from a lack of safe, clean water. In many of these countries, poor water and sanitation infrastructure, as well as increasing water demands due to urbanization and industrialization already place a major burden on the availability of safe water. Climate-induced changes such as flooding and drought will only increase this burden.

The Impacts of Climate Change on Water

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that flooding, droughts, glacial melting, and rising sea levels will increase if climate change continues. In its latest study on climate change, the IPCC predicts that heavy and frequent precipitation, in some regions, will be very likely. Heavy precipitation can damage crops, erode soil, prevent land cultivation due to waterlogging (when soil is saturated with water), and can lead to an increase in infectious disease.

In 2000, floods affected over 21 million people in West Bengal, leaving nearly 1,500 people dead or missing. Around 2 million homes, 2 million hectares of farmland, and 300,000 farm animals were lost. Flooding affects urban areas too. In the 2005 floods in Mumbai, India, many people blamed the inadequate drainage and sewer network for thousands of deaths as the poor sanitation infrastructure led to water contamination from diseases such as cholera.

Droughts are also likely to increase in some regions. The impacts of drought include lower crop yields and increased risk of food and water shortage, which lead to malnourished populations. In Kenya and Ethiopia, two of the world’s most drought-prone countries, children aged five or under are respectively 36 and 50 percent more likely to be malnourished if they were born during a drought.

Water scarcity can also lead to an increase in infectious disease as people re-use limited supplies for such tasks as farming. Reuse of untreated wastewater is extremely hazardous for human health since unsanitary water transmits many diseases. At least one-tenth of the world’s population consumes crops irrigated with wastewater. Increasing water scarcity and food demand, along with poor sanitation, will likely lead to increasing use of unsanitary water.

Melting glaciers will further exacerbate water availability. If global warming continues, glacial melting will increase and lead to short-term flooding (as the glaciers melt) and long-term declines in water supply across Asia, Latin America and parts of East Africa. In South America alone, melting glaciers could threaten the water supply of 30 million people.

Rising sea levels, another water-related consequence of climate change, pose a threat to fresh water availability and can lead to migration. As sea levels rise, the potential of salt-water to infiltrate fresh water sources increases. In addition, rising levels can lead to flooding of coastal areas, creating emergency situations in which people must flee from their homes. Flooding and salt-water infiltration of fresh water supplies will affect millions of people in low-lying countries and river deltas.

World Water Day 

The United Nations established World Water Day in 1992 to focus attention on the world’s water crisis as well as solutions to address it. Celebrated annually on March 22^nd, World Water Day is a day to learn about the water crises and ways to get involved.

Events this year included a gathering to support safe, affordable, and sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene (“WASH”) worldwide. The WASH initiative partners with other organizations to help communities around the world gain access to fresh, sanitary water. For example, WASH and Water For People are helping communities in Honduras improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water sources, sanitation facilities and health and hygiene education programs. Mercy Corps is taking action by piping clean drinking water to rural communities, helping solve resource-based conflicts and delivering water to families during emergencies.

Although World Water Day has passed, there are always ways to get involved, such as writing to your representative to urge for stronger support of WASH efforts or using your social networks to spread the word about water and sanitation issues. The more positive action we take today, the better chance we have of preserving clean, sanitary water for everyone.