Physical Wellness

4 Billion People in the World Affected by Water Shortage

By Kanika Gupta | Update Date: Feb 15, 2016 03:03 PM EST

Almost 2/3rd of the world population, more than 4-billion people, live with acute scarcity of water for at least one month every year, as per the latest study. The findings of the study reveal that water shortage is one of the biggest challenges faced by the world today. The new research also points out that 500m people live in places where the consumption of water is more than double the amount that is restocked in a year by rain. Most people that are living with poor resources of water reside in Indian and China. The other regions include central and western US, Australia and also the London city, reported The Guardian

According to a paper published in Science Advances journal, Arjen Hoekstra - water management professor at the University of Twente, Enschede, and his team of researchers studied the effect of water paucity on ecology as well as the people.

The findings of the study suggest that the shortage of water that the people feel right now is fueled by increasing human population, their consumption habits and agricultural practices. One can see the impact of water shortage on the Earth's landscape, said Hoekstra. "Groundwater levels decline and lakes disappear," he pointed out, as per VOANews.com. "You have less water flowing in the rivers. This threatens ecosystems and biodiversity, and harms local downstream communities where water will not flow."

The growing demand for fresh water around the world has amplified due to higher standards of living and change in consumption patterns of humans, said the researchers. They say that the best way to reduce the threat is by limiting the water consumption, amplifying the efficiency of use and improving the shared resources of fresh water, says Tech Times

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