One in four children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress by 2040, researchers estimated
  • From erratic rainfall to severe droughts, global warming is increasing competition for water around the world, with water-related conflicts on the rise.
  • According to the WRI, more than two billion people live in countries experiencing “high” water stress.
  • Conserving forests, wetlands and watersheds, including those around cities, can help absorb rainfall, helping stem crop losses from flooding and drought.

From Yemen to India, and parts of Central America to the African Sahel, about a quarter of the world’s people face extreme water shortages that are fueling conflict, social unrest and migration, water experts said on Wednesday.

With the world’s population rising and climate change bringing more erratic rainfall, including severe droughts, competition for scarcer water is growing, they said, with serious consequences.

“If there is no water, people will start to move. If there is no water, politicians are going to try and get their hands on it and they might start to fight over it,” warned Kitty van der Heijden, head of […]

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