Contenido

Se considera que existe una crisis hídrica cuando no hay suficiente agua potable para una población determinada.[4]​ Las Naciones Unidas y otras organizaciones mundiales consideran que la crisis hídrica que afecta a ciertas regiones es tal que forman una preocupación mundial.[12]​[13]​[14]​ Organizaciones como la Organización para la Agricultura y la Alimentación, subrayan la importancia de tomar medidas para evitar una crisis hídrica.[15]​.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of a water crisis include:.

• - Insufficient access to safe drinking water, a problem that affects approximately 884 million people.[16]​.

• - Insufficient access to water for sanitation and waste disposal, a situation that affects 2.5 billion people.[17]​.

• - The excessive use of groundwater reserves, leading to a decrease in agricultural yields.[18]​.

• - Excessive use and pollution of water resources, resulting in a reduction in biodiversity.

• - Regional conflicts over scarce water resources, sometimes resulting in armed conflicts.

About one-fifth of the world's population currently lives in regions affected by physical water scarcity, that is, regions where there are not enough water resources to meet the demand of a region or country, including the water that is needed to meet the demand of ecosystems to function effectively. Arid regions often suffer from physical water scarcity. Physical scarcity can also occur in regions where water resources appear abundant if they are over-exploited, such as when there is a demand excessive for irrigation or other forms of water exploitation. Symptoms of physical water scarcity include environmental degradation and diminishing groundwater reserves.[19]​.

"Economic water scarcity" is caused by a lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to extract water from rivers, aquifers and other water sources, or by insufficient human capacity to meet water demand. A quarter of the world's population is affected by economic water scarcity. Symptoms of economic water scarcity include a lack of infrastructure for the supply of safe water. People who do not have safe access to water are forced to travel long distances in search of water, often contaminated, from rivers to meet their domestic and agricultural needs. A significant part of Africa suffers from economic water scarcity; the development of water infrastructure in these areas could contribute to poverty reduction. Critical conditions often arise in poor and politically disempowered communities living in an environment that is already affected by dry conditions.

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights established a foundation of five fundamental attributes for water security, stating that the human right to water gives everyone the right to sufficient safe water that is accessible and affordable for personal and domestic use.[6][20]​.

Currently, hydrologists usually evaluate water scarcity by looking at the equation of water and population, that is, by comparing the total annual amount of water resources available to the population of a country or region. A frequently applied approach to measuring water scarcity has been to classify countries according to the amount of annual water resources available per person. For example, according to the Falkenmark Water Stress Index,[21] a country or region is considered to be experiencing "water stress" when annual water supplies drop to 1,700 cubic meters per person per year. Periodic or limited water shortages can be expected if levels drop between 1,700 and 1,000 cubic meters per person per year. If the water supply falls below 1000 cubic meters per person per year, the country faces a "water shortage" situation.[22]​

The FAO states that by 2025, an estimated 1.9 billion people will live in countries or regions facing absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world's population could be in a situation of water stress.[23] The World Bank notes that climate change could result in profound changes in future patterns of water availability and use, which could increase levels of water stress and insecurity, both on a global scale and in the sectors it serves. They depend on water.[24]​.

Other ways of measuring water scarcity include assessing the physical amount of water in nature, comparing countries with smaller or larger volumes of available water. However, this method often fails to capture the accessibility of the water resource for the population that needs it. Others have related the availability of water to the population.

Another measurement, calculated as part of a broader evaluation of water management in 2007,[25] had the objective of relating water availability to its actual use. He therefore made a distinction between 'physical' and 'economic' scarcity of water.

• - Water resource.

• - Rational use of water.

• - Drought.

• - Desertification.

• - Annex: Water crisis by country.

• - Water scarcity in Africa.

• - Water crisis in Iran.

• - Colombian water crisis of 2024.

• - Water crisis in Mexico from 2021-2025.

• - Water scarcity in Mexico.

• - Water scarcity in Chile.

• - This work contains a translation derived from «Water scarcity» from English Wikipedia, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Climate change

There is broad consensus that the total amount of freshwater available is decreasing due to climate change, which is responsible for the retreat of glaciers and the reduction in the flow of rivers, lakes and ponds. Many aquifers were overexploited and are not recharged sufficiently. Although the entire supply of fresh water is not depleted, a significant portion has been contaminated, salty, unsuitable or unavailable for human consumption, industry and agriculture. To avoid a global water crisis, farmers will have to strive to increase productivity to meet growing food demands, while industry and cities will have to find ways to use water more efficiently.[11]​.

Contenido

Se considera que existe una crisis hídrica cuando no hay suficiente agua potable para una población determinada.[4]​ Las Naciones Unidas y otras organizaciones mundiales consideran que la crisis hídrica que afecta a ciertas regiones es tal que forman una preocupación mundial.[12]​[13]​[14]​ Organizaciones como la Organización para la Agricultura y la Alimentación, subrayan la importancia de tomar medidas para evitar una crisis hídrica.[15]​.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of a water crisis include:.

• - Insufficient access to safe drinking water, a problem that affects approximately 884 million people.[16]​.

• - Insufficient access to water for sanitation and waste disposal, a situation that affects 2.5 billion people.[17]​.

• - The excessive use of groundwater reserves, leading to a decrease in agricultural yields.[18]​.

• - Excessive use and pollution of water resources, resulting in a reduction in biodiversity.

• - Regional conflicts over scarce water resources, sometimes resulting in armed conflicts.

About one-fifth of the world's population currently lives in regions affected by physical water scarcity, that is, regions where there are not enough water resources to meet the demand of a region or country, including the water that is needed to meet the demand of ecosystems to function effectively. Arid regions often suffer from physical water scarcity. Physical scarcity can also occur in regions where water resources appear abundant if they are over-exploited, such as when there is a demand excessive for irrigation or other forms of water exploitation. Symptoms of physical water scarcity include environmental degradation and diminishing groundwater reserves.[19]​.

"Economic water scarcity" is caused by a lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to extract water from rivers, aquifers and other water sources, or by insufficient human capacity to meet water demand. A quarter of the world's population is affected by economic water scarcity. Symptoms of economic water scarcity include a lack of infrastructure for the supply of safe water. People who do not have safe access to water are forced to travel long distances in search of water, often contaminated, from rivers to meet their domestic and agricultural needs. A significant part of Africa suffers from economic water scarcity; the development of water infrastructure in these areas could contribute to poverty reduction. Critical conditions often arise in poor and politically disempowered communities living in an environment that is already affected by dry conditions.

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights established a foundation of five fundamental attributes for water security, stating that the human right to water gives everyone the right to sufficient safe water that is accessible and affordable for personal and domestic use.[6][20]​.

Currently, hydrologists usually evaluate water scarcity by looking at the equation of water and population, that is, by comparing the total annual amount of water resources available to the population of a country or region. A frequently applied approach to measuring water scarcity has been to classify countries according to the amount of annual water resources available per person. For example, according to the Falkenmark Water Stress Index,[21] a country or region is considered to be experiencing "water stress" when annual water supplies drop to 1,700 cubic meters per person per year. Periodic or limited water shortages can be expected if levels drop between 1,700 and 1,000 cubic meters per person per year. If the water supply falls below 1000 cubic meters per person per year, the country faces a "water shortage" situation.[22]​

The FAO states that by 2025, an estimated 1.9 billion people will live in countries or regions facing absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world's population could be in a situation of water stress.[23] The World Bank notes that climate change could result in profound changes in future patterns of water availability and use, which could increase levels of water stress and insecurity, both on a global scale and in the sectors it serves. They depend on water.[24]​.

Other ways of measuring water scarcity include assessing the physical amount of water in nature, comparing countries with smaller or larger volumes of available water. However, this method often fails to capture the accessibility of the water resource for the population that needs it. Others have related the availability of water to the population.

Another measurement, calculated as part of a broader evaluation of water management in 2007,[25] had the objective of relating water availability to its actual use. He therefore made a distinction between 'physical' and 'economic' scarcity of water.

• - Water resource.

• - Rational use of water.

• - Drought.

• - Desertification.

• - Annex: Water crisis by country.

• - Water scarcity in Africa.

• - Water crisis in Iran.

• - Colombian water crisis of 2024.

• - Water crisis in Mexico from 2021-2025.

• - Water scarcity in Mexico.

• - Water scarcity in Chile.

• - This work contains a translation derived from «Water scarcity» from English Wikipedia, published by its editors under the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.