WASHINGTON, Oct 6 — The number of people with inadequate access to water will top five billion by 2050, Jordan news agency (Petra) reported the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said Tuesday.
According to The New York Times, a new report by the United Nations weather agency said that the number of people with inadequate access to water in 2018 stood at 3.6 billion.
In the past 20 years, terrestrial water storage – the summation of all water on the land surface and in the subsurface, including soil moisture, snow and ice – has dropped at a rate of 1cm per year, the organisation pointed out.
The biggest losses are occurring in Antarctica and Greenland, but many highly populated lower latitude locations are experiencing significant water losses in areas that are traditionally providing water supply, with major ramifications for water security.
The situation is worsening by the fact that only 0.5 per cent of water on Earth is useable and available freshwater, it added.
To reduce water-related disasters and support water resource management, climate services for water and end-to-end early warning systems, as well as sustainable investments, are required, the agency said.
— Bernama
