![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/an_area_with_cracked_ground_spots_due_to_lack_of_water_and_rain-1-300x300.jpg\")
Changes in water scarcity that previously seemed temporary or transitory are becoming permanent and irreversible. An important report notes this, but also proposes possible solutions.<\/p>\nChanges in water scarcity that previously seemed temporary or transitory are becoming permanent and irreversible. An important report notes this, but also proposes possible solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world has entered a new phase: more and more watersheds and aquifers are losing their ability to return to normal. Droughts, water shortages, and pollution incidents that seemed to be temporary shocks are becoming permanent in many places,\u201d warns a new United Nations report. The report calls this crisis a \u201cwater bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the report, the world is facing an irreversible depletion of water reserves. Indeed, humanity has been overconsuming water for decades and the reserves of lakes, rivers, glaciers, and wetlands are dwindling, which is already being felt by billions of people. Another serious factor is the pollution of these reservoirs.<\/p>\n
The analysis shows that nearly three-quarters of the world’s population live in countries that fall into the \u201cwater shortage\u201d or \u201ccritical water shortage\u201d categories. In addition, four billion people face severe water shortages for at least one month of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn many regions, people are living beyond their hydrological means, and many essential water systems are already completely depleted,\u201d said the study’s lead author, Kave Madani. \u201cBy recognizing the reality of unsustainable water use, we can finally make the difficult choices that will protect people, economies, and ecosystems,\u201d added the director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH).<\/p>\n
Three billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are concentrated in regions already facing unstable or declining water supplies. Soil salinity has also increased, which scientists say has already degraded more than 100 million hectares of arable land.<\/p>\n
Mold, drought, pests. Climate change threatens coffee cultivation in Kenya
\nMore than 170 million hectares of arable land are exposed to \u201chigh\u201d or \u201cvery high\u201d water scarcity. The economic damage caused by soil degradation, groundwater depletion, and climate change exceeds $300 billion (\u20ac6.2 trillion) per year globally.<\/p>\n
The researchers wrote that the current approach to solving water-related problems is no longer appropriate and that the priority is not a return to normal, but a new global water agenda designed to at least minimize damage.<\/p>\n
The report emphasizes the need for a fundamental shift in the global water agenda, moving away from repeated emergency responses to what the authors call \u201cbankruptcy management.\u201d According to them, this means countering overexploitation with transparent water accounting, enforceable limits, and protection of water-related natural capital. All natural and man-made elements of the landscape that produce and store water\u2014aquifers, wetlands, soils, rivers, and glaciers\u2014should be much better protected. At the same time, these measures must be geared toward equitable distribution and protect vulnerable communities and their livelihoods.<\/p>\n
Rapid drought is a hidden threat to European nature<\/p>\n
Jonathan Paul, a geologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, said the report failed to address one of the main drivers of the crisis. \u201cThe fundamental issue, which is mentioned only once in the report, is the influence of massive population growth on most manifestations of water bankruptcy,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n
The report views water not only as a growing source of risk, but also as a strategic opportunity in a fragmented world. It argues that significant investments in water can lead to progress on climate, biodiversity, soil, food, and health, and can therefore serve as a practical platform for cooperation within and between societies. Acting early, before water stress turns into irreversible loss, can reduce shared risks, build resilience, and restore trust between peoples and nations through tangible results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Changes in water scarcity that previously seemed temporary or transitory are becoming permanent and irreversible. An important report notes this, but also proposes possible solutions. \u201cThe world has entered a new phase:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,418],"tags":[427,426,425,428],"class_list":["post-152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-news","tag-crisis","tag-water","tag-water-depletion","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions\/154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pentelikonews.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}