18 Surprising Projections About the Future of Water | Seametrics (2024)

FAQs

What will be the future of water? ›

Population growth, lifestyle changes, development, and agricultural practices will contribute to an increasing demand for water during the next 20 years. Global water use is likely to increase by 20 to 50 percent above current levels by 2050, with industrial and domestic sectors growing at the fastest pace.

Demand for water will have grown by 40% by 2050, and 25% of people will live in countries without enough access to clean water. This warning does not come as a surprise. The UN, and other global organizations, have been warning us of water shortages by 2050 for years — if not decades.

By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population may be facing water shortages. When waters run dry, people can't get enough to drink, wash, or feed crops, and economic decline may occur.

Unless water use is drastically reduced, severe water shortage will affect the entire planet by 2040. "There will be no water by 2040 if we keep doing what we're doing today". - Professor Benjamin Sovacool, Aarhus University, Denmark.

The population of India is expected to stabilize around 1640 million by the year 2050. As a result, gross per capita water availability will decline from ~ 1820 m3/ yr in 2001 to as low as ~ 1140 m3/yr in 2050.

Yet, our world's water resources are being compromised. Today, 80% of our wastewater flows untreated back into the environment, while 780 million people still do not have access to an improved water source. By 2030, we may face a 40% global gap between water supply and demand.

A major United Nations report, released in June, shows that the world is not on track to meet a U.N. goal: to bring safe water and sanitation to everyone by 2030. And by 2050, half the world's population may no longer have safe water.

The short answer is no, the world will not run out of water. That said, it's becoming increasingly apparent that freshwater will not always be available where and when humans need it. There's no risk that we'll run out of salty seawater, which covers 70 percent of our world's surface.

While our planet as a whole may never run out of water, it's important to remember that clean freshwater is not always available where and when humans need it. In fact, half of the world's freshwater can be found in only six countries. More than a billion people live without enough safe, clean water.

What country is struggling with water? ›

There are 17 countries listed in the category of suffering from extremely high baseline water stress – Qatar, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, United Arab Emirates, San Marino, Bahrain, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Oman and Botswana.

Yet, a global water crisis continues to challenge people's access to the quantity and quality needed for drinking, cooking, bathing, handwashing, and growing food. While the number of people lacking access to clean water has fallen from 1.1 billion in 2000 to 703 million in 2022, challenges remain.

The simple answer is no — but freshwater will not always be available where and when humans need it. Water continuously circulates between Earth's surface and the atmosphere. Climate change intensifies this cycle: As air temperatures increase, more water evaporates into the air, causing more precipitation.

While our planet as a whole may never run out of water, it's important to remember that clean freshwater is not always available where and when humans need it. In fact, half of the world's freshwater can be found in only six countries. More than a billion people live without enough safe, clean water.

Although properly stored public-supply water should have an indefinite shelf life, replace it every 6 to 12 months for best taste. If the water you are storing comes from a private well, spring, or other untested source, purify it before storage to kill pathogens (see below).