Water cycle off balance for 'first time in human history'; India & China to face imminent crisis, warns report
The world teeters on the brink of a looming global "water disaster," as a startling new report reveals the hydrological cycle has been disrupted for the "first time in human history.
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FollowThe world teeters on the brink of a looming global "water disaster," as a startling new report reveals the hydrological cycle has been disrupted for the "first time in human history." According to the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, the cost of ignoring this crisis will disproportionately impact regions with dense populations and heavy agricultural activity, including parts of India, China, and Europe.
The report, released on Wednesday, casts a glaring spotlight on the neglect of an essential freshwater resource—“green water,” which is stored in soil and vegetation. It highlights how economic policies have largely sidelined this critical component, putting unprecedented strain on the global water cycle.
Looming water disaster: India & China to face cost of inaction
According to Times of India (TOI), the report urgently calls for countries to manage water as a shared global resource. It warns that areas with high population densities and intense irrigation are already seeing water reserves dwindle at an alarming rate. “Total water stored on and beneath the Earth’s surface is unstable and declining across areas where populations and economic activity are concentrated, and crops are grown,” it states.
Regions like northwestern India, northeastern China, and parts of southern and eastern Europe stand on the front lines of this crisis. The poorest 10% of the global population, who depend on land-based sources for over 70% of their annual precipitation, will bear the brunt of deforestation’s devastating effects.
Irrigated lands face a particularly grim future, with some areas experiencing a drop in water storage at double the rate of others. If these alarming trends continue, the report warns, irrigation could soon become untenable, resulting in a 23% reduction in global cereal production.
Reimagining the Economics of Water
The report sheds light on decades of mismanagement and the chronic undervaluation of water. It calls for a complete overhaul of water economics, advocating for a global perspective on water resources. “One that recognises the hydrological cycle as a global common good: understanding that it connects countries and regions through both the water that we see and atmospheric moisture flows; that it is deeply interconnected with climate change and the loss of biodiversity with each rebounding on the other; and that it impacts on virtually all the SDGs,” the report asserts.
It further pushes for an acknowledgment of the fundamental water needs necessary for a dignified life, suggesting a benchmark of 4,000 liters per person per day as a starting point for future discussions.
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