CLIMATE
Five billion could struggle to access water in 2050: UN
October 6, 2021 - More than five billion people could have difficulty accessing water in 2050, the United Nations warned. "The State of Climate Services 2021: Water" report comes just weeks before COP26 summit.
Already in 2018, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water for at least one month per year, according to a new report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation.
The WMO said that over the last 20 years, the levels of water stored on land – on the surface, in the subsurface, in snow and ice – had dropped at a rate of one centimetre per year.
The agency said there were major ramifications for water security, as only 0.5 percent of water on Earth is useable and available fresh water.