Is the world running out of fresh water?
Scientists investigated;
The results of a new study by Dutch scientists indicate that the world’s fresh water resources are running out.
According to the social reporter of Moj News Agency, the process of decreasing global water security in recent years has accelerated due to a combination of climate changes and increased water demand following the increase in population in the world, and water resources around the world are under the most serious threat since the beginning of humanity.
The lack of access of 60% of the world’s population to clean, healthy and standard drinking water, the decrease in rainfall, the drying of 75% of the world’s wetlands in the last 50 years, etc., all indicate this global decrease in water resources.
In this regard, a recent study by Dutch scientists at Utrecht University in the Netherlands has investigated the relationship between water consumption by different sectors and the prevalence of droughts and heat waves.
The authors of this study say that the use of water for different sectors (such as irrigation, livestock, domestic, energy and production) is increasing due to the growth of the world population and economic development. In addition, the increase in the frequency and intensity of drought, heat wave, and combined drought-heat wave events will lead to a decrease in water availability and the aggravation of water shortage.
Also, the threat to water resources is not the same in all parts of the world, and this is the case in the Middle East and North Africa more than in other parts of the world.
“Extreme weather events have significantly changed water consumption habits around the world over the past thirty years,” said Gabriel Cárdenas Belza, lead author of the study. Also, socio-economic factors and incorrect water management programs have severely affected water resources.
Researchers warn that with the continuation of this trend, both natural and human sources, the world’s water resources will run out in the not-so-distant years. The solution is to reduce the consumption and correct management of water resources in accordance with climate changes and world conditions.