Water Crisis

Water crisis refers to the inability of the existing water resource systems to meet water needs or water demand in terms of either quantity (lack of enough water) or quality (lack of access to clean and safe water). The United Nations estimates that roughly 2.4 billion people lack access to fresh water (one third of the world’s population) and more than 1 billion people cannot meet their daily water needs. In addition, many regions are (or have started to be) affected by water risks (e.g., extreme floods, torrential rains) or water of poor quality (e.g., polluted water).

Although the water crisis can be regarded as a natural phenomenon in many places, it is also a human-made phenomenon. Some countries have been chronically short of water because ...