Is climate change worsening the water crisis?
A microfinance expert’s take.
It is a universal truth that water is essential not only for the creation of living organisms, but also to sustain their existence. As the age old saying goes, water is life.
Unfortunately, safe water is a scarce natural resource that is increasingly under threat. Less than 3% of the water on Earth is freshwater that is fit for human consumption. In fact, nearly 99% of all of our planet’s water cannot be used by humans and other living beings. However, this small, finite quantity has been steadily deteriorating for decades (both in quantity and quality) due to reasons like increased pollution, misuse, mismanagement, and more.
On the other hand, the demand for water is on the rise because of a growing population and increasing industrialisation. Alarmingly, the global demand for clean water is expected to exceed 40% of the available supply by 2030.This has led to a crisis of water scarcity — one that is only aggravated by climate change.
How does climate change impact water availability?
Water is the main resource affected by climate change. Global warming and the resulting fluctuations in climate have transformed the global hydrological cycle, impacting water in a number of direct and indirect ways:
- Rising sea levels can lead to the contamination of water sources with saltwater
- Melting glaciers can cause rivers to overflow, flooding the lowlands
- Changing local rainfall patterns can affect the groundwater levels
- Extreme weather events (such as floods, droughts, and cyclones) can contaminate a region’s water sources and damage important water and sanitation infrastructure
Therefore, climate change impacts not only the quantity and quality of safe water available, but also the related infrastructure and services. The two are irrevocably linked.
Which brings us to the next critical question.
Who is most vulnerable to water scarcity?
Today, 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries out of which, 733 million live in high and critically water-stressed countries.
Closer to home, India houses over 18% of the world’s population, but only has 4% of its water resources, making it one the most water-stressed countries in the world. According to a 2018 report by NITI Aayog, approximately 600 million Indians experience high to extreme water stress. Inadequate access to safe water is estimated to cause 200,000 deaths annually. Additionally, nearly 70% of India’s water is contaminated.
The severity of the water crisis in India is already being felt. The state of Karnataka is currently facing its most severe drought in decades and the lack of water has resulted in its prices skyrocketing and bore wells running dry. The problem has evolved into a pressing interstate issue involving Tamil Nadu and multiple political parties.
From a socio-economic lens, poor and marginalised communities bear the brunt of this crisis, with women and children being the worst hit. Globally, over 450 million children live in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability.
Since water is integral to life, a lack of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has far reaching consequences on people’s lives. It can lead to:
- Severe health and nutrition issues including water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, and E. Coli. These can even result in death, especially among young children.
- Loss of livelihood as 78% of all jobs in the global workforce are highly dependent on water. This is especially relevant for India as a majority of the country’s population is dependent on agriculture.
- Loss of educational opportunities as individuals are forced to travel long distances and wait for hours to fetch water — a task that often falls on women and children, especially young girls.
What can be done to solve this crisis and achieve water security?
With water scarcity becoming an increasingly severe problem, political conflicts surrounding this precious resource will only become more common — both on a global and domestic level.
Therefore, it is imperative that we take strong, immediate steps to counter the challenge:
1. Treat water like the precious resource it is
While large scale policy changes are essential for solving water scarcity, our roles as individual consumers cannot be underestimated. We all need to take ownership of our responsibility towards this cause and adopt water smart practices in our daily lives. Simple steps like avoiding long showers, ensuring there are no water leaks in your home, and more can have a notable impact when adopted at scale.
2. Adopt sustainable, affordable and scalable WASH solutions
These can help reduce the misuse and mismanagement of water resources, both of which are leading causes of water scarcity. Solutions include rainwater harvesting, management of groundwater, reforestation, water smart agricultural practices (drip irrigation, biogas), quality maintenance of WASH infrastructure, and reusing wastewater.
3. Increase the investment (both public and private) in WASH solutions
Public and private sector financing in WASH solutions plays a critical role in the creation, promotion as well as adoption of innovative, climate resilient strategies and technologies at scale. These can be aimed at improving water quality, water efficiency, infrastructure, and more.
4. Advocate for policy change and greater cooperation from governments
Governments and policy makers must treat water as a priority while creating and implementing action plans. In addition to offering incentives for adopting water efficiency, laws (both industrial and domestic) regarding this resource should be implemented strictly. Improving cooperation between global as well as local communities will be critical for water supply management and conflict resolution.
According to the World Bank, water scarcity can reduce India’s economic growth by almost 6% of its GDP by 2050 by impacting health, agriculture, income, and property. However, the same report also highlights that the negative impacts of climate change on water can not only be neutralised with better policy decisions, but we could improve our economic growth rates with better water resource management.
Therefore, when it comes to tackling water scarcity - the goal is clear. What’s needed is for all of us to work together to implement the solutions.
