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Future global urban water scarcity and potential solutions
Chunyang He1,2, Zhifeng Liu3,4, Jianguo Wu1,2,5
1Center for Human-Environment System Sustainability (CHESS), State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology (ESPRE), Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
Nature Communications
|August 4, 2021
Summary
Global urban populations facing water scarcity will surge by 2050 due to urbanization and climate change. Infrastructure investment can help, but environmental trade-offs must be managed.
Area of Science:
- Environmental science
- Urban planning
- Climate change studies
Background:
- Urbanization and climate change are intensifying global urban water scarcity.
- Water scarcity occurs when demand exceeds availability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify global urban water scarcity in 2016 and 2050.
- To explore potential solutions for urban water scarcity.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of global urban water scarcity under four socioeconomic and climate change scenarios.
- Projection of urban population and megacity exposure to water scarcity.
Main Results:
- Global urban population facing water scarcity projected to rise from 933 million (2016) to 1.693–2.373 billion (2050).
- India faces the most severe increase in water-scarce urban population (153–422 million).
- Number of large cities facing water scarcity to increase from 193 to 193–284, including 10–20 megacities.
Conclusions:
- Over two-thirds of water-scarce cities can improve water availability through infrastructure investment.
- Potential environmental trade-offs of large-scale water scarcity solutions require careful consideration.
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