UN Report Warns , Growing Number of People , Face Water Scarcity.<br />On March 21, the United Nations released a report warning <br />that 26% of the world's population, approximately <br />2 billion people, lack access to safe drinking water. .<br />According to NPR, the report comes <br />on the eve of the U.N.'s first conference on <br />the topic of water in over 45 years. .<br />The U.N.'s World Water Development Report 2023 revealed that 46% of people lack access to basic <br />sanitation globally, equal to about 3.6 billion people. .<br />NPR reports that the U.N. has laid out <br />a goal to ensure that all people in the world <br />have access to clean water by 2030.<br />According to Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the <br />report, meeting the goal will require somewhere <br />between $600 billion and $1 trillion per year. .<br />Connor said that with 70% of the world's <br />water use going to agriculture, it becomes <br />critical for irrigation to be more efficient. .<br />According to the U.N.'s Educational, Scientific and Cultural <br />Organization (UNESCO) report, as climate change <br />continues, water scarcity is expected to increase. .<br />Seasonal water scarcity will increase in <br />regions where it is currently abundant — <br />such as Central Africa, East Asia and parts<br />of South America — and worsen in regions <br />where water is already in short supply, such <br />as the Middle East and the Sahara in Africa, World Water Development Report 2023, via NPR.<br />An increase in intensity or frequency of droughts <br />and 'heat extremes' can be expected in most <br />regions as a direct result of climate change.<br />The UNESCO report states that an average <br />of 10% of the world's population already lives <br />in an area with high or critical water stress.
