Wednesday July 3, 2024
Eos via Maven’s Notebook —
It falls from the sky and, in some parts of the world, runs freely from faucets. But accessing clean water is an issue for a significant swath of the population, and the situation is only apt to worsen in coming decades, new modeling work reveals. About 55% of the world’s population currently has trouble accessing clean water at least 1 month out of the year, and by 2100, that number could rise above 65%, researchers calculated. Minimizing water scarcity now and into the future will rely on curbing water use, reducing pollution, and mitigating the effects of climate change, the researchers suggest.
From agriculture to manufacturing to cooking and drinking, human existence is inextricably linked to the availability of clean water. That need is reflected in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6, one of 17 goals representing targets for global development.
But reliably accessing clean water is, in many parts of the world, a dance: Water availability and demand must be synced not only geographically but also in time, said Edward Jones, a hydrology and water quality modeler at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. “There are strong seasonal variations in availability and quality and, to some extent, demand.”