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Twenty-five countries, which house one-quarter of the world's population, are facing extremely high water stress each year, regularly using up almost their entire available water supply. According to research published by the World Resources Institute on Wednesday (August 16), at least 50 per cent of the global population or around four billion people are currently living under highly water-stressed conditions for at least one month of the year. 

"Living with this level of water stress jeopardizes people’s lives, jobs, food and energy security. Water is central to growing crops and raising livestock, producing electricity, maintaining human health, fostering equitable societies and meeting the world’s climate goals," the research said. Increasing water stress is threatening countries’ economic growth as well as the world’s food security.

Which countries are facing the worst water stress?

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As per the research, 25 countries, including Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar are exposed to high water stress annually. This means that such countries use more than 80 per cent of their renewable water supply for irrigation, livestock, industry and domestic needs.

"Even a short-term drought puts these places in danger of running out of water and sometimes prompts governments to shut off the taps," the research said. The water stress in Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar is mostly driven by low supply, paired with demand from domestic, agricultural and industrial use.

The most water-stressed regions, meanwhile are the Middle East and North Africa, where 83 per cent of the population is exposed to extremely high water stress, and South Asia, where 74 per cent of people are exposed.

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Situation to worsen

The research also said that by 2050, an additional one billion people are expected to live with extremely high water stress, even if the world limits global temperature rise to 1.3 degrees C to 2.4 degrees C (2.3 degrees F to 4.3 degrees F) by 2100, an optimistic scenario.

"Global water demand is projected to increase by 20 per cent to 25% by 2050, while the number of watersheds facing high year-to-year variability, or less predictable water supplies, is expected to increase by 19 per cent," it added.

This means that for the Middle East and North Africa, their entire population will live with extremely high water stress by 2050. And this is not just a problem for consumers and water-reliant industries but for political stability. 

Water demand spiking in Africa

By 2050, water demand in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to skyrocket by 163 per cent. Even though most countries in this region are not extremely water-stressed, demand is growing faster there than in any other region in the world. This increase in water use, mainly expected for irrigation and domestic water supply, could foster major economic growth in Africa.

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