Water scarcity is not a new issue haunting the world; nevertheless, it is still seen as a challenge that affects billions every year. The increasing water demand, coupled with climate change and mismanagement, has made water a scarce commodity, especially in developing countries like India. Scarcity essentially occurs when there is limited availability of a resource in comparison to its demand. Water scarcity can occur due to a variety of reasons, including pollution, inefficient use and climate change. Most of these reasons point back to the destructive actions and habits of human beings and how humans dig their own graves yet again while being around Mother Nature.
Two-thirds of the world’s population is experiencing severe water scarcity for at least one month each year, and over two billion people live in regions with inadequate water supply. The countries that face the most water scarcity are in the Middle East and North Africa and include Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Oman. These countries use at least 80% of their water supply for domestic needs, industry, livestock, and irrigation. Today, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, defined as nations that withdraw 25 percent or more of their renewable freshwater resources to meet water demand.
According to the NITI Aayog report, nearly 600 million Indians face high-to-extreme water stress, with around 200,000 people dying annually due to inadequate access to safe water. Major cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai are experiencing severe water shortages, and the situation is expected to worsen with time. Hard-hit regions include Southern and Central Asia and North Africa, where the situation is considered critical. Even countries with highly developed infrastructure, like the United States, are seeing water levels drop to record lows.
Did you know?
A “zero day” is a term used to describe the point at which a city or region runs out of usable water. This concept gained international attention when Cape Town, South Africa, nearly reached its zero-day crisis in 2018. As groundwater sources and reservoirs dried up, authorities were forced to implement severe water rationing to avoid complete depletion. Many other cities around the world, including Bengaluru in India, face similar risks. If urgent action is not taken, major urban centres could experience their zero-day crises soon.
In many rural areas of India and other developing nations, women and girls bear the responsibility of fetching water for their households. Due to the lack of nearby water sources, they often have to walk long distances—sometimes up to 5 to 10 kilometres daily—to access clean water. This not only consumes their time but also exposes them to physical exhaustion, health risks, and safety concerns. For example, villages in the mountain state of Uttarakhand suffered from a lack of water supply as the steep Himalayan terrain made it difficult to build and maintain the required infrastructure. For many villagers, particularly women, obtaining fresh water for domestic use meant travelling distances of over 1.6 kilometres. This is just one example from the present age; there are a lot more areas within India where thousands are having to walk kilometres and miles to collect for their daily consumption.
The burden of collecting water significantly affects their opportunities for education and employment, trapping them in a cycle of poverty and inequality, particularly in developing countries. Children, especially girls, often miss school because they have to spend hours fetching water. Even when they do attend school, the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities makes learning difficult. Many schools in water-stressed regions lack proper hygiene facilities, leading to increased dropout rates, particularly among girls during menstruation. Ensuring access to clean water in schools can significantly improve attendance and overall educational outcomes.
Water wastage is a significant contributor to the global water crisis. A typical shower can use between 10 to 25 litres of water per minute. On average, a 10-minute shower can waste around 100 to 250 litres of water. In the United States, for example, more than 3.7 trillion litres of water are lost annually to faulty household plumbing.
In 2010, the United Nations recognised the human right to water and sanitation, stating that everyone has the right to sufficient, safe, acceptable, and affordable water for personal and domestic use. In 2022, 2.2 billion people still lacked access to safely managed drinking water services, and 3.5 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation. There are still around 2 billion people worldwide without access to safely managed drinking water services. Among them, 771 million people cannot access even basic drinking water services. Over half of the global population, or 4.2 billion people, lacks safely managed sanitation services.
A prop depicting a water tap with cascading plastic bottles.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
While water is a basic human necessity and right, it is increasingly being treated as a commodity rather than a public good. The debate on whether water should be sold for profit, limiting access for many, has been going on for years now. While considering the quantity of water waste happening in the country, pricing might encourage efficient use and investment in better infrastructure. However, excessive privatisation can lead to monopolisation and exploitation, making water inaccessible to those who need it most.
The bottling industry
The bottling industry often makes all of our lives extremely convenient. However, groundwater extracted to help fill these billions of plastic bottles poses a potential threat to drinking water resources and the water table levels. With close to 70% growth, the bottling industry is not affecting a few but more than 2 billion people who rely on groundwater for their daily use. This is, of course, apart from feeding the plastic pollution crisis we have been battling for years. Fossil fuels are the raw ingredient for the vast majority of plastics, which have a heavy carbon footprint from manufacturing through disposal. Bottles used to package water take around 500 years to biodegrade, and if incinerated, they produce toxic fumes. Recycling is only feasible in limited circumstances because only PET bottles can be recycled. All other bottles are discarded.
In UN University’s recently published study, which studied 109 countries, it was also concluded that the highly profitable and fast-growing bottled water industry is masking the failure of public systems to supply reliable drinking water for all.
Do-it-yourself!
Find out how much water you are approximately using a day by calculating the method and activities you have done. For example, I drank 3 litres and took a shower of 5 minutes (50 litres).
Also explore where your water is coming from. For example, from the well or groundwater storage at home, corporation, etc.
Published – March 22, 2025 11:10 am IST
