Drought

The world has plenty of water — it’s the ultimate renewable resource. So why do we seem to be running out of it? In the spring of 2015, California imposed its toughest-ever water restrictions as a drought stretched into its fourth year. Shortages are sparking conflicts and policy changes from Turkey to Taiwan, as governments try to balance the needs of residents, farms and industry. What’s going on? Scientists suspect that climate change is playing a role. There’s no doubt that humans are using more water. There are more of us, for one thing. Rising standards of living also mean more intensive water use. By some estimates, more than a billion people live in regions where water is scarce, a number projected to grow to 3.5 billion by 2025.

Thirsty Brazilians are drilling through their basements for water. Iran is short of water from border to border as its lakes and wetlands shrink. Taiwanese chipmakers are searching for alternate water supplies as cities there struggle against a record drought. Droughts in China, India and South Africa have power producers and beverage makers interrupting operations or facing protesters saying don’t take our water. Overpumping in places like California’s Central Valley and the Great Plains’ Ogallala basin has depleted some of the world’s biggest aquifers. Water played a role in instigating civil war in Syria, and scientists suggest that Yemen could collapse as a state over an even more serious lack of water. Egypt and Ethiopia have long bickered over shared Nile River water, while the only thing that Iraq and ISIS agree on is that Turkey is storing too much water from the Euphrates River. Quality is also a vast concern: More than 20 percent of the Earth’s 7 billion people drink contaminated water.