Study: Middle East May Be Extremely Water Stressed By 2040
Most of the Middle East and parts of Africa have a high probability for extreme water shortages by 2040, says a new study from the World Resources Institute, due to a combination in "changes in climate, economic development, urbanization, and population growth.
"The WRI gathered climate and socioeconomic data on 167 countries and ranked each for future water stress — when the demand for water exceeds the available amount — in 2020, 2030 and 2040.
The top six — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates — remain constant while the remainder of the top 10 includes Israel, Palestine, Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia in varying years.
“With regional violence [in the Middle East] and political turmoil commanding global attention, water may seem tangential,” WRI says in a blog post about the study.
But access to water may be a contributing factor in much of the political and socioeconomic instability in the region, says WRI.
Researchers hope that the study will provide investors, policymakers, companies, and development organizations with valid projections of global water supply and demand on a national level.
Other countries that fall into the extreme category by 2040 include Spain, Greece and Turkey, while the United States, China, Australia, India, Mexico, and Peru fall into the second highest category.
Chile, Estonia, Namibia, and Botswana could face an especially significant increase in water stress by 2040.
Achieving a water-secure future is one of six critical goals that the world must achieve this decade in order to secure a sustainable future, WRI says in it’s mission statement.
