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1 in 4 people globally still lack access to safe drinking water – WHO, UNICEF

Departmental update

Reading time: 3 min (828 words)

To mark World Water Week 2025, new report highlights persistent inequalities, with vulnerable communities left behind.

Despite progress over the last decade, billions of people around the world still lack access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services, putting them at risk of disease and deeper social exclusion.

A new report: Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000–2024: special focus on inequalities –launched by WHO and UNICEF during World Water Week 2025 – reveals that, while some progress has been made, major gaps persist. People living in low-income countries, fragile contexts, rural communities, children, and minority ethnic and indigenous groups face the greatest disparities.

Ten key facts from the report:

  • Despite gains since 2015, 1 in 4 – or 2.1 billion people globally – still lack access to safely managed drinking water*, including 106 million who drink directly from untreated surface sources.
  • 3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practice open defecation.
  • 1.7 billion people still lack basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million without access to any facilities.
  • People in least developed countries are more than twice as likely as people in other countries to lack basic drinking water and sanitation services, and more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
  • In fragile contexts**, safely managed drinking water coverage is 38 percentage points lower than in other countries, highlighting stark inequalities.
  • While there have been improvements for people living in rural areas, they still lag behind. Safely managed drinking water coverage rose from 50 per cent to 60 per cent between 2015 and 2024, and basic hygiene coverage from 52 per cent to 71 per cent. In contrast, drinking water and hygiene coverage in urban areas has stagnated.
  • Data from 70 countries show that while most women and adolescent girls have menstrual materials and a private place to change, many lack sufficient materials to change as often as needed.
  • Adolescent girls aged 15–19 are less likely than adult women to participate in activities during menstruation, such as school, work and social pastimes.
  • In most countries with available data, women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection, with many in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia spending more than 30 minutes per day collecting water.
  • As we approach the last five years of the Sustainable Development Goals period, achieving the 2030 targets for ending open defecation and universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services will require acceleration, while universal coverage of safely managed services appears increasingly out of reach.

“Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges, they are basic human rights,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director a.i, Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization. “We must accelerate action, especially for the most marginalized communities, if we are to keep our promise to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“When children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education, and futures are put at risk,” said Cecilia Scharp, UNICEF Director of WASH. “These inequalities are especially stark for girls, who often bear the burden of water collection and face additional barriers during menstruation. At the current pace, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is slipping further from reach – reminding us that we must act faster and more boldly to reach those who need it most.”

Notes for editors:

Download the full report

Multimedia material is available here

This latest update – produced by WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) – provides new national, regional and global estimates for water, sanitation and hygiene services in households from 2000 until 2024. The report also includes expanded data on menstrual health for 70 countries, revealing challenges that affect women and girls across all income levels.

The report is being launched during World Water Week 24-28 August 2025, the leading annual conference on global water issues, and bringing together stakeholders from across sectors to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

____________________________ 

*JMP definition of ‘Safely managed drinking water and sanitation services’: Drinking water from sources located on premises, free from contamination and available when needed, and using hygienic toilets from which wastes are treated and disposed of safely.

**Fragile contexts: Fragility, according to the OECD, is the combination of exposure to risk and insufficient coping capacities of the state, system and/or communities to manage, absorb or mitigate those risks. It occurs in a spectrum of intensity across six dimensions: economic, environmental, human, political, security and societal.

About the JMP
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) was established in 1990 and has been tracking global progress for 35 years. It is responsible for monitoring Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.4, 6.1 and 6.2, which call for universal access to safe water, sanitation, hygiene and the elimination of open defecation by 2030.

For more information, please contact:

WHO: mediainquiries@who.int
UNICEF: Iris Bano Romero | UNICEF New York | +1 9178048093 | ibano@unicef.org

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

https://www.who.int/news/item/26-08-2025-1-in-4-people-globally-still-lack-access-to-safe-drinking-water—who–unicef?

Drinking Water Inspectorate ordered action over ‘forever chemicals’ risk 

Analysis finds regulator for England and Wales raised issues with untreated water at facilities serving millions

Rachel Salvidge

The drinking water watchdog for England and Wales has ordered companies to act after “forever chemicals” linked to cancer and other conditions were found in untreated water sources at levels it said “could constitute a potential danger to human health”.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas) are a group of manmade chemicals used for their waterproof and grease-resistant properties. These forever chemicals persist in the environment, can build up in the body and some have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and fertility problems. Two of the most notorious, PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) are now banned after being classified as carcinogens by the World Health Organization.

PFAS foam gathers at the the Van Etten Creek dam in Oscoda township, Michigan, near Wurtsmith Air Force Base.

An analysis of Drinking WaterInspectorate (DWI) data by Watershed Investigations and the BBC found that the regulator had flagged Pfas issues in untreated water at hundreds of water treatment works, reservoirs, boreholes and supply systems serving more than 6 million people. The true number of people potentially affected will be much higher, as population data was not available for all the affected sites.

The analysis reported that water companies who have been ordered to improve their assets because of Pfas contamination include Anglian Water, where untreated supplies serving 4.2 million people are affected, and Wessex Water, serving 1.2 million.

Severn Trent Water, South Staffordshire Water and South West Water, who serve hundreds of thousands of customers, have also been told to act. Affinity Water has five waterworks at risk and United Utilities has two, but the number of people whose supplies may be affected by these could not be determined.

Some DWI notices cite “inadequate treatment process to remove Pfas”, while others warn of “increasing Pfas levels” that could breach the DWI’s safety limits. The regulator has given the companies deadlines to reduce the risk, typically by stepping up Pfas monitoring, improving treatment processes, or blending contaminated supplies with cleaner water from other sources to lower concentrations.

Major Pfas pollution sources include airports, military sites, chemical manufacturers, sewage treatment plants, fire stations, metal and paper mills, leather and textile factories, energy facilities, and waste sites such as landfills. Pfas-laden sewage sludge spread on farmland can also taint soil and water, and Pfas are used in pesticides as both an active agent and a spreading agent. An Environment Agency report estimated up to 10,000 potential hotspots nationwide.

Affinity Water, which supplies parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and several London boroughs, has been served notices relating to the banned carcinogens PFOS and PFOA.

Affinity’s sites in Holywell, Baldock and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, and Ardleigh in Essex, have been flagged for PFOS, while water at the Blackford works in Hillingdon is at risk from PFOA. The water company has until 2029 to either blend the contaminated supplies with cleaner water or install better filtration at their works.

Pfas has been found to be a risk in South Staffordshire Water’s supplies in Cambridgeshire, with contamination from fire-fighting foams at Duxford airfield thought to be one likely source. Severn Trent Water’s Cropston works are at risk from rising Pfas levels, while all of South West Water’s affected supplies are located in the Isles of Scilly, and United Utilities has has Pfas notices served against two of its works – one for Royal Oak in Southport and the other for Wickenhall.

Since 2007, the UK’s Pfas limits in drinking water have dropped dramatically. Initially set at 10,000 nanograms/l for PFOA and 1,000 ng/l for PFOS, the PFOA limit fell to 5,000 ng/l in 2009, and by 2021 both were reduced to 100 ng/l amid emerging toxicity evidence. In January, pressure from experts led the DWI to cap the total of 48 Pfas types at 100 ng/l.

Prof Hans Peter Arp, a Pfas expert, said the UK’s contamination problem was “large but by no means unique,” noting that “Pfas has seeped into drinking water supply zones around the world for over 50 years”. He explained that drinking water limits were only introduced about 25 years ago, initially covering just a few compounds like PFOA and PFOS, and are “not protective enough”.

Arp contrasted the UK’s former limit of 10,000 ng/l for PFOA in 2007 with Denmark’s much stricter current standard of 2 ng/l for a group of four Pfas, calling it “a decrease by more than 5,000”. He warned that “there is likely a portion of the population that has been affected” and said tackling Pfas will require upgrading treatment technology, including “nanofiltration or ion exchange resins”, as well as preventing future emissions and cleaning up contaminated soil and groundwater.

The cost of cleaning up Pfas has been estimated at £1.6tn across the UK and Europe over a 20-year period, an annual bill of £84bn.

A Water UK spokesperson said Pfas pollution was “a huge global challenge” and called for the chemicals to be banned and for “a national plan to remove it from the environment – which should be paid for by manufacturers”.

They added: “All water companies have to meet stringent government standards and testing, including on Pfas, so we can all have complete confidence in the quality of our tap water whenever and wherever we use it.”

The EU is considering a wide-ranging restriction across thousands of Pfas but industry is pushing back hard and the UK does not have plans to follow suit.

A government spokesperson said UK drinking water was “of an exceptionally high standard and among the best in the world”. They added: “Water companies must conduct rigorous tests and sampling, and there is no evidence that water from consumer taps exceeds the safe levels of Pfas, as set by the DWI in 2021.”

They said £2bn in private-sector investment had been committed “to further improving drinking water quality, including tackling Pfas and replacing the remaining lead pipes in the network”.

Dr Shubhi Sharma of Chem Trust said: “Drinking water is a major source of Pfas exposure. The current UK standards for Pfas in drinking water are not protective enough. The UK government needs to match the EU and bring in stringent thresholds.”

She added that removing Pfas from supplies was “astronomically expensive” and urged ministers to apply the polluter-pays principle “so that chemical companies are paying these costs and not the public through their water … what we really need is to turn off the Pfas pollution tap at the source by urgently stopping the production and use of these forever toxic chemicals. Just focusing on cleaning up Pfas pollution is only a very expensive sticking plaster”.

CLICK HERE HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/03/drinking-water-inspectorate-ordered-action-over-forever-chemicals-risk?utm_source=chatgpt.com

The Stream, November 11, 2025: America’s Water Infrastructure Needs $3.4 Trillion Investment, Report Warns

by Christian Thorsberg

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Circle of Blue
Fishermen cast their nets at sunrise on the Mekong River south of Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. Photo © J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue

Global Rundown

  • A new report on the economic importance of a strong water sector forecasts that America will need to invest $3.4 trillion over the next 20 years to modernize its infrastructure. 
  • As Iran’s water crisis continues, dams in the country’s second-largest city, Mashhad, have dwindled to less than 3 percent capacity.
  • Millions of people in Niger, Nigeria, and Ghana are at high risk of surface water contamination and loss as a result of deforestation, a new report indicates. 
  • The over-extraction of sand from Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, Asia’s largest lake and a crucial Mekong River source, threatens to shrink its wet-season size by up to 40 percent.

The Lead

For every 1,000 hectares of forest cleared in Niger and Nigeria, almost 10 hectares of surface water disappear, according to a study released this month from Water Aid and Tree Aid, two international NGOs.

The links between deforestation and worsening water crises in West Africa are clear, the report shows. Across Ghana, Niger, and Nigeria, 122 million people live in areas of high surface water risk as a direct result of deforestation — a 5 million-person increase in five years. Nigeria alone, which loses 27,000 hectares of vegetation cover annually, accounts for 70 percent of this vulnerable population. 

In Niger, the impacts of deforestation are particularly dire. Tree loss imperils nearly all the country’s available freshwater sources. In the primarily arid and semi-arid country, climate change is giving rise to a pronounced “more drought, more flood” phenomenon. Without forests to filter and absorb excess water, storms – when they do arrive – are falling increasingly in extreme bursts, resulting in runoff, contamination, and infrastructure damage. But there is also hope. Of the three countries studied, Niger is the only one to achieve a net gain in forest cover since 2013, adding more than 100,000 hectares.

Recent WaterNews from Circle of Blue

This Week’s Top Water Stories, Told In Numbers

$1 million

When invested into water infrastructure in America, it yields $2.5 million in economic output, according to a report released last week by the nonprofit U.S. Water Alliance. What’s more, that $1 million provides 10 jobs, $837,000 in labor income, and $1.4 million in GDP.

The publication, a centerpiece of the organization’s Value of Water campaign, links the country’s financial health with sound water investments — a relationship that is strained by widespread underinvestment, it warns. Over the next 20 years, the report estimates that America will need to spend roughly $3.4 trillion to modernize and repair its aging wastewater, treatment, and stormwater facilities. The problem is comparatively worse in rural communities, which face greater needs per-capita than urban areas in 80 percent of states. 

Per capita, these investments would have the greatest impact in North Dakota, Iowa, Louisiana, West Virginia, Vermont, and New Hampshire. 

“Clean water utilities are on the frontlines of protecting public health and the environment. This report affirms what we have long known — that closing the investment gap will not only safeguard clean water, but also strengthen the entire U.S. economy,” Adam Krantz, CEO of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, said in the report.

In context: After Decades of Neglect, Bill Coming Due for Michigan’s Water Infrastructure

40 percent

Amount by which the wet season-size of Tonle Sap, the largest lake in Asia, will shrink by 2038 if local mining continues at its current pace, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature Sustainability. A rising demand for sand, used to make concrete and glass, has led to increased dredging in the Cambodian lake, which drains for half of the year into the Mekong River, supporting its southern flow. But during the rainy summer months of May through October, rising water levels in the Mekong reverse this trend, and Tonle Sap pulses, “expanding the lake’s surface area by 4 to 6 times and swelling its water volume to 80 cubic kilometers,” Science reports. This dynamic supports some of the world’s most biodiverse riparian, lake, and wetland habitat, and the livelihoods and cultural identities of some 60 million people who live along the Mekong’s shores. In the absence of strong, nutrient-rich pulses, fisheries and water supplies are at risk of collapse.

According to Science, sand is the world’s second most-exploited resource, “often extracted from riverbeds or shores.” Water is the most exploited. Both Cambodia and Vietnam have banned sand export, though its mining from the Mekong watershed continues, to the detriment of its health and local human communities, flora, and fauna.

In Context: Can the Mekong, the World’s Most Productive River, Endure Relentless Strain?

On the Radar

As the Tehran metropolitan area — home to nearly 18 million people — nears a potential Day Zero scenario within two weeks, Iran’s second-largest city is also facing acute water shortages amid widespread drought, exacerbated by mismanagement. 

The water levels in dams in Mashhad, population 4 million, have dwindled to less than 3 percent capacity, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. The city’s water consumption has been measured at roughly 8,000 liters per second, “of which about 1,000 to 1,500 litres per second is supplied from the dams,” Hossein Esmaeilian, the chief executive of Mashhad’s water company, told AFP. Residents are urged to reduce their water consumption by 20 percent, he said. 

Tehran officials admitted this week that water rationing began too late in the capital, a failure that may now lead to forced evacuations, according to Iran International. The country’s central plateau may be depopulated as a result of “a chronic disconnect between scientists, industry, and government agencies.” Already, residents of villages and rural regions have abandoned their land amid shortages and migrated toward city centers, further straining limited reservoir supplies.

Wetland Watch

MARSH Project: Near the historic downtown of Charleston, South Carolina, a grassroots effort to preserve important salt marshes along the Ashley River — installed amid rollbacks to the Clean Water Act — has proved successful in mitigating floods, the Associated Press reports. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Stream, November 11, 2025: America’s Water Infrastructure Needs $3.4 Trillion Investment, Report Warns

MEDIA ADVISORY: DC Water To Launch Pure Water DC, A Major Initiative To Develop A Second Source Of Drinking Water

Pure Water DC Logo with DC Water Logo and the text Pure Water DC Launch over graphic image of water

On November 19, DC Water will launch an ambitious effort – Pure Water DC – to reduce the District’s reliance on the Potomac River as its only water source. We’ll be hosting an event to outline our vision and strategy for resilience and host an expert panel to address one of the most critical challenges facing the nation’s capital.

Any disruption to the Potomac or Washington Aqueduct—whether from contamination, drought, or infrastructure failure—would have catastrophic consequences for public health, the economy, and national security.

Pure Water DC seeks to mitigate that risk through a comprehensive program to strengthen water supply resilience and explore a second source of water for the District. This initiative represents a major investment and a regional call to action, inviting collaboration among utilities, agencies, and stakeholders to secure a drought-proof future.

EVENT DETAILS

What: 
Launch of Pure Water DC Program, unveiling the vision and strategy for water supply resilience, followed by an expert panel discussion.

When: 
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Where: 
DC Water Headquarters 
1385 Canal Street SE 
Washington, DC 20003

Who: 
DC Water leadership, regional water utilities, environmental agencies, and federal partners including:

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • District Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE)
  • Water Environment Federation (WEF)
  • Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB)
  • WSSC Water
  • Greater Washington Board of Trade

Pure Water DC is DC Water’s commitment to lead the region toward a more resilient water future. The program will explore several options, including:

  • Safeguard our existing source and optimize the distribution system.
  • Add local storage and align with regional emergency storage efforts.
  • Explore advanced water reuse from Blue Plains as a drought-proof, cost-effective second source.

DC Water has committed $21 million over three years to fund studies, pilot projects, and public engagement, including the creation of the Pure Water DC Discovery Center at Blue Plains. This facility will test purification technologies, support regulatory research, and educate the public about water resilience.

The stakes are high: a major disruption could cost the region $15 billion in the first month alone.

Media should RSVP by Tuesday, November 18, at noon to Sherri Lewis at sherri.lewis@dcwater.com to attend and learn more about the new initiative, and next steps to create a more resilient water supply.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

https://www.dcwater.com/about-dc-water/media/news/media-advisory-dc-water-launch-pure-water-dc-major-initiative-develop?

Pitt researchers reveal hidden impacts of drinking-water treatment on urban streams

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

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Urban water phosphorus subsidies
IMAGE: IMAGE SHOWING FLOW OF WATER AND TREATED WATER.view more CREDIT: PLOS WATER, ET. AL.

University of Pittsburgh Researchers Reveal Hidden Impacts of Drinking Water Treatment on Urban Streams

Aging lead-pipe drinking water systems, along with the public health measures implemented to reduce their risks, are reshaping the chemistry and health of nearby urban streams. New research from University of Pittsburgh biogeochemists, hydrologists, and environmental engineers uncovered previously overlooked environmental impacts of a common water treatment practice: adding orthophosphate to drinking water systems to prevent lead pipe corrosion. Published in PLOS Water, the study reveals that phosphate used in drinking water treatment can leak into urban streams, altering their chemistry and potentially accelerating eutrophication, the process where such nutrients lead to excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants..

And such lead-pipe networks are widespread throughout the Northeast, Great Lakes region and Midwest — meaning as many as 20 million Americans and their nearby streams may face similar challenges.

In collaboration with local water authorities, the scientists studied five urban streams to look for changes in the pre- and post-implementation of orthophosphate-based corrosion control on stream chemistry. Their findings show statistically significant increases in phosphorus and metal concentrations in streamwater following the treatment, indicating that subsurface infrastructure is not a closed system. Phosphorus concentrations in urban streams increased by over 600% following orthophosphate dosing, while trace metals such as copper, iron, and manganese also rose by nearly 3,500%, suggesting co-transport of corrosion byproducts.  

“We were surprised by how clearly the effects of drinking water treatment appeared in stream chemistry. This finding suggests that our underground infrastructure isn’t as sealed off from the environment as we often assume,” said first author Dr. Anusha Balangoda, Assistant Teaching Professor in Geology and Environmental Science in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences. “Our study is the first to examine urban stream chemistry and the influence of drinking-water additives.”

“We absolutely need to protect people from lead in drinking water,” said co-author Dr. Emily Elliott, co-founder and chair of the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory and professor in Geology and Environmental Science. “But we also need to understand how these treatments affect our rivers and ecosystems.” Elliott collaborated with co-authors Sarah-Jane-Haig, an associate professor, and Isaiah Spencer-Williams, a doctoral student, both also in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Their paper, titled “From Pipes to Streams: The Hidden Influence of Orthophosphate Additions on Urban Waterways,” was published November 13 in PLOS Water.

Public-health emergencies arising from corroded, lead-water pipes are nothing new— contaminations have made the news in the past decade in Flint, Michigan, Washington, D.C., and more recently in the study area of Pittsburgh. Phosphate corrosion inhibitors are used in water systems across North America, the United Kingdom, and parts of Europe. The researchers noted that the potential ecological consequences of this dosing of drinking-water system pipes does to streams, rivers, and groundwater remain “largely unexplored, particularly in the U.S.”

The study examined a pathway of phosphorus pollution that has received little attention: leakage from drinking water pipes rather than traditional sources like wastewater discharge or industrial runoff. The researchers monitored five above-ground urban stream reaches, selecting these because most Pittsburgh streams are buried in an underground pipe network, and collected detailed water chemistry samples monthly over a two-year period spanning before, during, and after orthophosphate treatment implementation (February 2019 to June 2020). They also conducted nutrient addition bioassays at three key time points, using both streamwater and tap water controls, to assess the ecological impacts on algal growth.

The scientists offer four corrective actions to address phosphate leakage from buried water infrastructure systems: 

1. Repair Aging Infrastructure. Urgently address the issue of drinking water pipe networks losing 40-50% of treated water through leaks and breaks, thereby preventing phosphate-enriched water from reaching urban streams and groundwater.

2. Upgrade Wastewater Treatment. Implement tertiary treatment processes at wastewater treatment plants to remove excess phosphorus. The study shows effluent phosphorus increased 26% after dosing began, yet many plants lack phosphorus removal capabilities that can achieve an 80-99% reduction.

3. Optimize Dosing Concentrations. Determine the minimum effective orthophosphate concentration that protects human health from lead exposure while minimizing ecological harm to receiving waters.

4. Develop Innovative Approaches to Monitor Infrastructure-Ecosystem Interactions. Create new monitoring and assessment methods to understand how additives in drinking water systems reach and affect urban streams through subsurface connections. 

“Pittsburgh isn’t unique—millions of Americans are served by water systems with lead pipes and aging infrastructure,” Elliott said. “Our findings suggest this issue extends far beyond one city, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast where both lead pipes and phosphate treatment are common. We need a national conversation about infrastructure and water quality.”

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation RAPID funding program (grant NSF No. 1929843), as well as the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority contributed drinking water sample collection, chemical analysis and water treatment information.

# # #

JOURNAL

PLOS Water

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

From Pipes to Streams: The Hidden Influence of 2 Orthophosphate Additions on Urban Waterways

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

13-Nov-2025

COI STATEMENT

None

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1105929?

World Annual Fresh Water Losses Could Supply 280 Million People

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New report links poor land and water management to accelerating freshwater loss.

The world is losing 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater every year, enough to meet the needs of 280 million people annually, according to the first edition of the Global Water Monitoring Reportreleased today by the World Bank. These losses are driven by worsening droughts and unsustainable land and water practices, including poor pricing policies, weak coordination, deforestation, wetland degradation, and excessive irrigation.

The report, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, provides the most detailed picture yet of global freshwater decline, and offers a roadmap for reversing the trend through smarter policy and investment.

“The trend of continental drying is sobering, but the analysis also points to solutions,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director, World Bank. “With the right policies and investments, countries can turn the tide by managing water as the precious resource it is. This is smart development — and essential for building a livable planet.”

Drawing on two decades of satellite data enhanced through new modeling techniques, the report provides an unprecedented view of how land and water management decisions are shaping water availability. For the first time, leaders can see where water loss is happening— at national and county levels—and therefore identify where action is most urgently needed.

By combining water availability and agricultural water demand data, the report identifies vulnerability hot spots and priority regions for policy interventions. Global water use has risen 25% since 2000, with a third of that increase in areas already drying out. This includes areas already facing freshwater scarcity such as Central America, a large swath of Eastern Europe, and northern India. However, water stress is also emerging in historically water-abundant regions undergoing rapid agricultural, industrial, and urban growth, such as southeastern Brazil.

The strain on jobs, incomes, and ecosystems is most acute in vulnerable regions. In Sub-Saharan Africa, droughts leave 600,000 to 900,000 people without jobs each year, disproportionately affecting women, older individuals, landless farmers, and low-skilled workers.

The past two decades have seen a global shift toward the cultivation of more water-intensive crops. Among drying countries, 37 have transitioned to more water-intensive agriculture, including 22 located in arid and semi-arid regions. This structural shift, coupled with inefficiency, further intensifies water demand in already water-stressed countries. More than two-thirds of the inefficient irrigation in drying areas is linked to the cultivation of water-intensive crops, such as rice, wheat, cotton, maize, or sugar cane. This underscores the need for smarter crop choices and incentives that align agricultural practices with water sustainability.

Virtual water trade, which can provide a way for water-scarce countries to import water intensive goods like crops and industrial products, can help reduce global water use. Since 2010, virtual water trade has saved 475 billion cubic meters of water each year or almost 10% of total global water consumption. However, the report finds that many water-scarce countries are exporting products that are water intensive, highlighting the need to align trade policies with water sustainability goals.

“Continental drying is not inevitable,” said Fan Zhang, lead author of the Global Water Monitoring Report. “By managing demand, expanding supply, and allocating water more fairly and efficiently, countries can stabilize water systems and secure their future. The data show that solutions exist; what’s needed now is coordination, investment, and resolve.”

The report calls for a three-part strategy to address the crisis:

  • Manage water demand more efficiently through technologies, regulations, and public awareness
  • Expand alternative water supply via recycling, desalination, and improved storage
  • Ensure fair and effective water allocation across sectors and regions.

Contact:

World Bank Media Relations: +1 (202) 473 7660, press@worldbank.org

Website: www.worldbank.org/water

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PRESS RELEASE NO: 2026/021/PLANET

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World Bank Group: Africa Water Center – Strengthening Capacity in the Water Sector 

A High-Level Forum on Defying Drought (D2) in West Africa, 29–30 September 2025, brought together senior policymakers, experts and partners in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to advance coordinated solutions to strengthen drought resilience across the Sahel.  

Reporting and monitoring

Convened by the World Bank Group in partnership with the Government of Burkina Faso and the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE), the two-day event focused on scaling up drought-resilience measures across vulnerable regions.  

Climate pressures are intensifying across West Africa. Population growth and declining per capita water resources are straining supply–demand balances, while drought risk is rising alongside floods and heatwaves. Over the past 50 years, extreme drought conditions have increased by more than 230 per cent.  

A key outcome was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Africa Water Center — a regional hub for innovation, knowledge exchange and capacity building to strengthen water planning, early warning and drought management across West Africa.

Explore more here. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

https://www.unwater.org/news/world-bank-group-africa-water-center-strengthening-capacity-water-sector

“Day Zero” Could Hit One Major World City—and More Could Be at Risk

A historic drought in Iran could make its capital city Tehran reach “Day Zero” within two weeks, according to state media. Day Zero is the term signifying when the main source of drinking water runs dry and nothing comes out of faucets. As of November 6, one of the five dams that supplies Tehran was at only eight percent of its capacity, enough for two weeks.

The Siosepol Bridge in Isfahan, Iran. A historic drought across the country could make the city of Tehran reach “Day Zero” within about two weeks, according to the state media. |  Credit: Seiiedali/Creative Commons

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, reportedly said that if it doesn’t rain by late November, Tehran, a city of ten million people, will have to ration water.  If there’s no rain after that, they will have to evacuate the city. Mismanagement and overexploitation of water resources as well as climate change are said to be the cause of the shortages.

The possibility of a Day Zero occurring in other parts of the world was the subject of a new study by researchers in South Korea. The authors write that regions along the Mediterranean Sea, parts of North America, and southern Africa could see shortages arriving as early as this or next decade, and they could last longer. Cape Town, South Africa, faced a complete shutdown of its water in 2018, which was avoided by severe restrictions like limiting people to just a few liters a day.

The authors say that solutions must come from policy makers prioritizing smart management and modernizing leaky infrastructure as well as from people using water more responsibly.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

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https://h2oradio.org/this-week-in-water/a-major-world-city-could-run-out-of-water

Extreme floods are slashing global rice yields faster than expected

Flooding is emerging as a silent but powerful destroyer of global rice supplies—and the danger is accelerating.

Source:Stanford UniversitySummary:Scientists discovered that a week of full submergence is enough to kill most rice plants, making flooding a far greater threat than previously understood. Intensifying extreme rainfall events may amplify these losses unless vulnerable regions adopt more resilient rice varieties.Share:

    

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Rising Floods Threaten the World’s Rice
Severe flooding is increasingly damaging global rice yields, slashing production by millions of tons and threatening food security for billions. Credit: Shutterstock

Intense flooding has significantly reduced rice harvests around the world in recent decades, putting at risk the food supply of billions of people who rely on the grain as a dietary staple. Between 1980 and 2015, annual losses averaged about 4.3%, or roughly 18 million tons of rice each year, according to Stanford University research published November 14 in Science Advances.

The researchers found that the damage has grown worse since 2000 as extreme floods have become more common in many of the planet’s main rice-growing regions. They report that climate change is likely to further increase the frequency and severity of these destructive floods in the coming decades.

Droughts, Floods, and a Delicate Balance for Rice

Scientists and farmers have long known that rice yields fall during droughts. The new study adds fresh detail to this picture, estimating that droughts reduced rice yields by an average of 8.1% per year during the 35-year study window. At the same time, the work draws attention to a related but less examined danger from too much water. Rice plants benefit from shallow standing water during early growth, yet prolonged or deep flooding can severely damage or kill the crop.

“While the scientific community has focused on damage to rice yield due to droughts, the impacts of floods have not received enough attention,” said Steven Gorelick, the study’s senior co-author and a professor of Earth system science in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “Our research documents not only areas where rice yields have suffered due to past flooding, but also where we can anticipate and prepare for this threat in the future.”

What Counts as a ‘Rice-Killing’ Flood

The research team clearly spells out, for the first time, the conditions that turn a flood into a lethal event for rice, said lead study author Zhi Li, who worked on the project as a postdoctoral fellow in Gorelick’s lab at Stanford and recently joined the faculty of the University of Colorado Boulder.

They found that a full week of complete submergence during the plant’s growth cycle is the critical tipping point. “When crops are fully submerged for at least seven days, most rice plants die,” Li said. “By defining ‘rice-killing floods,’ we were able to quantify for the first time how these specific floods are consistently destroying one of the most important staple foods for more than half of the global population.”

How the Researchers Measured Flood and Drought Damage

To estimate how much past droughts and floods have harmed rice production, the scientists combined several lines of evidence. They drew on information about rice growth stages, annual global rice yields, a worldwide database of droughts and floods dating back to 1950, a model of how floods behave across landscapes, and a simulation of soil moisture levels over time in major rice-growing river basins.

Their analysis indicates that, in the coming decades, the most intense week of rainfall in key rice-growing basins around the world could deliver 13% more rain than the average for those regions during the 1980 to 2015 baseline period. This projected increase suggests that rice-killing flood conditions may become more common as the climate continues to warm.

Flood-Resistant Rice Varieties and High-Risk Regions

Wider use of flood-resistant rice varieties could help reduce future losses, especially in the areas that face the highest risk. The study highlights the Sabarmati Basin in India, which experiences the longest rice-killing floods, along with North Korea, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Nepal, where the impact of such floods on rice yields has grown the most in recent decades. The greatest total losses have occurred in North Korea, East China, and India’s West Bengal.

The researchers also identified exceptions, such as India’s Pennar Basin, where flooding appears to boost rice yields. They suggest that in these locations, hot and dry conditions may allow standing floodwater to evaporate quickly, reducing long-term damage and sometimes even creating favorable moisture conditions for the crop.

Compounding Climate Stresses on Rice

For Gorelick and Li, the new findings reinforce the need to understand how rice responds not only to floods and droughts, but also to heat waves and cold stress, both individually and when they occur in succession. Earlier research has shown that rapid swings from drought to flood and back again can nearly double rice yield losses compared with single flood or drought events on their own. According to the authors, “How these combined effects can be mitigated remains a major challenge.”

Additional co-authors not mentioned above include Lorenzo Rosa, who is affiliated with the Department of Earth System Science in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science. The research was supported by a Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to Li by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251115095918.htm

Floating device turns raindrops into electricity

A lightweight, floating system turns raindrops into renewable power using water itself as the key component.

ource:Science China PressSummary:A new floating droplet electricity generator is redefining how rain can be harvested as a clean power source by using water itself as both structural support and an electrode. This nature-integrated design dramatically reduces weight and cost compared to traditional solid-based generators while still producing high-voltage outputs from each falling drop. It remains stable in harsh natural conditions, scales to large functional devices, and has the potential to power sensors, off-grid electronics, and distributed energy systems on lakes and coastal waters.Share:

    

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Floating Device Turns Raindrops Into Electricity
A water-integrated generator can float on lakes or reservoirs and convert raindrop impacts into strong electrical pulses with minimal materials. Credit: Shutterstock

Raindrops are more than a source of fresh water. They also carry mechanical energy that reaches the ground for free, and scientists have been exploring how to turn that energy into electricity for years. Traditional droplet electricity generators, however, often struggle with low efficiency, heavy components, and limited potential for scaling up. A research team from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics has now developed a new solution: a floating droplet electricity generator that uses natural water as part of its structure. The result is a lighter, more affordable, and more sustainable way to collect clean energy. The work is described in National Science Review.

Most droplet electricity generators use a solid platform and a metal bottom electrode. When a raindrop hits the dielectric film on top, the impact produces an electrical signal. Although this approach can generate hundreds of volts, it relies on rigid, costly materials that limit widespread deployment. The new design takes a different approach by allowing the device to float on a water surface. In this setup, the water itself acts as the supporting base and also serves as the conductive electrode. This nature-integrated configuration cuts the device’s weight by about 80 percent and lowers cost by about 50 percent while maintaining similar electrical output compared to conventional systems.

How Water Improves Energy Generation

When a raindrop lands on the floating dielectric film, the water beneath it provides the strength needed to absorb the impact because of its incompressibility and surface tension. This lets the droplet spread more effectively across the surface. At the same time, ions in the water act as charge carriers, allowing the water layer to operate as a dependable electrode. These combined effects enable the floating generator to deliver high peak voltages of around 250 volts per droplet, a performance level comparable to devices that rely on metal components and solid substrates.

Durability is a major advantage of the new system. Tests showed that the W-DEG continued to function under a wide range of temperatures and salt levels, and even when exposed to natural lake water containing biofouling. Many energy-harvesting devices degrade in such environments, but this generator remained stable because its dielectric layer is chemically inert and its water-based structure is naturally resilient. To improve reliability further, the team used water’s strong surface tension to design drainage holes that let water move downward but not upward. This creates a self-regulating way to remove excess droplets and helps prevent water buildup that could interfere with performance.

Scalable Design for Large-Area Energy Collection

Scalability is a promising aspect of this technology. The researchers created an integrated device measuring 0.3 square meters, which is much larger than most previous droplet generators, and demonstrated that it could power 50 light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at the same time. The system also charged capacitors to useful voltages within minutes, showing its potential for powering small electronics and wireless sensors. With continued development, similar systems could be deployed on lakes, reservoirs, or coastal waters, providing renewable electricity without using any land-based space.

“By letting water itself play both structural and electrical roles, we’ve unlocked a new strategy for droplet electricity generation that is lightweight, cost-effective, and scalable,” said Prof. Wanlin Guo, a corresponding author of the study. “This opens the door to land-free hydrovoltaic systems that can complement other renewable technologies like solar and wind.”

Broader Applications and Future Possibilities

The impact of this research goes beyond capturing energy from rainfall. Because the generator floats naturally on water, it could support environmental monitoring systems in diverse aquatic settings, including sensors for water quality, salinity, or pollution. In areas with frequent rain, the technology could offer a distributed source of clean power for local grids or act as a resource for off-grid needs. The “nature-integrated design” approach, which uses abundant natural materials like water as essential working components, may also inspire future advances in sustainable technology.

Although the laboratory results are encouraging, the researchers emphasize that additional work is necessary before the technology can be deployed at large scales. Real raindrops vary in both size and speed, and these differences could influence power generation. Maintaining the durability of large dielectric films in dynamic outdoor conditions will also require further engineering. Even so, the successful demonstration of a stable, efficient, and scalable prototype represents an important step toward practical applications.

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251114041228.htm