Three billion without water by 2080
U.N. experts predict global water shortages could triple in effect by 2080 — leaving some 3.2 billion people without clean water. Today that number is 1.1 billion, but experts at a regional conference in Malaysia warned that a changing climate could have a dramatic effect on where, when, and how often rain falls and water flows later this century.
“As human civilization develops, the environment is increasingly affected in negative ways. Floods, drought, changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures are signs of our misdeeds to nature,” Rozali Ismail, head of a state water association in Malaysia, told the Associated Press.
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Source : Associated Press via USA Today
Circle of Blue’s east coast correspondent based in New York. He specializes on water conflict and the water-food-energy nexus. He previously worked as a political risk analyst covering equatorial Africa’s energy sector, and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa. Contact: Cody.Pope@circleofblue.org
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