A new era has begun of “global water bankruptcy,” with humans depleting freshwater systems to the point they can’t recover, according to a new United Nations report.
Three-quarters of the world’s population — about 6.1 billion people — now live in countries where freshwater supplies are insecure or critically insecure, according to the report, published Tuesday by UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health. Four billion people face severe water scarcity for at least one month a year.
Cities are experiencing more Day Zero events in which municipal water systems near collapse. An acute water shortage