3500 litres of water per day

Yes ! We humans consume 3500 litres per day . But all we know is that we use only 140 litres per day , on which

35% for bathing and showering

30% for flushing toilet

20% for laundry usages

10% for cooking and drinking purposes

remaining 5% for cleaning purposes .

3500–140 = 3360 . By what means we consume this 3360 litres of water per day ? Yes we do by means of VIRTUAL WATER . Virtual water coined by John Anthony Allan (British Geographer) in 1993 . He raised questions over his own government for the production and export of citrus fruits . Virtual water is something the amount of water hidden in food and other commodities . On average a Non-vegetarian consumes about 5k litres of water per day through virtual water while a vegetarian consumes about 2.7k litres per day .

In India ,

Paddy production needs about 2850 cubic metre of water for one ton while the average around the world is 2.3k cubic metre

Maize production needs 1.6k cubic metre of water for one ton while the average around the world is 1.3k cubic metre

Goat production needs about 5.2k cubic metre per ton while the average around the world is 4k cubic metre litres

Chicken production needs a massive 7.7k cubic metre per ton while the average around the world is 4k cubic metre litres which is pretty huge .

Does it affects the economy ? Yes it affects the economy and it seems like world is moving where wealth and economy of a country might be decided based on water (Virtual Water) . Importing water intensive products helps in saving water resources . What happens when water intensive products are exported ?

The country exporting water intensive products might face water scarcity after several years . How is India doing ? India is one of the worst performers where the net virtual water import and export is between — 97 to — 75 billion cubic metre litres per year , while countries like Mexico and Middle eastern countries are best performers with a net virtual water import and export of 100 to 305 billion cubic metre litres per year .

A car of 1.1 ton needs about 4 lakh litres of water , a jeans pant ? 6k litres , a smart phone ? 12k litres .

Do we get the rainfall we needed ? Yes but no . We are getting what we are getting always but population and growing industries might make it look like we are not getting enough rainfall . Average rainfall in decades ,

2003–2012 : 1130.12 mm/year

1993–2002 : 1150.89 mm/year

1883–1992 : 1199.69 mm/year