World Water Day is observed on March 22
Water, specifically drinking water, is just one of nature’s many gifts we take for granted. Many of us, especially in urban India, are blessed to have access to safe drinking water throughout the year. This may be a reason why some of us don’t think twice about wasting water. There is a high chance you are unconsciously wasting water, for eg, asking the waiter to fill up your drinking glass at a restaurant, having a sip or two and wasting the rest, letting your bucket overflow with water in the bathroom when you’re not attentive etc. There are huge swaths of population across India and the world that do not have access to clean drinking water. Remember, every small step towards saving water matters. The need for water conservation grows stronger year by year with a burgeoning global population. This World Water Day, we bring to you shocking global statistics about drinking water by the United Nations.
1) 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services.
2) By 2050, the world’s population will have grown by an estimated 2 billion people and global water demand could be up to 30% higher than today.
3) Agriculture currently accounts for 70% of global water withdrawals, mostly for irrigation – a figure which rises in areas of high water stress and population density. Industry takes 20% of the total, dominated by energy and manufacturing. The remaining 10% goes to domestic use – the proportion used for drinking water is much less than 1%.
4) Water availability: Today, around 1.9 billion people live in potentially severely water-scarce areas. By 2050, this could increase to around 3 billion people.
5) Water quality: An estimated 1.8 billion people use an unimproved source of drinking water with no protection against contamination from human faeces.
6) Globally, over 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the environment without being treated or reused.
Inputs by worldwaterday.org
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