Unless water use is drastically reduced, severe water shortage will affect the entire planet by 2040.

"There will be no water by 2040 if we keep doing what we're doing today".

- Professor Benjamin Sovacool, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Where does it go?  

The reasons for the huge pressure on Earth’s water resources include an increasing demand for energy due to an expanding global population and economic developments. The generation of electricity is one of the biggest sources of water consumption in the world.

Producing food and products

Agriculture and farming also need water. For example, does it take 24,000 liters of water to produce just 1 kilo of chocolate and more than 15,000 liters of water to produce 1 kilo of beef. The cotton for a t-shirt requires almost 3,000 liters of water.

The demand for water for manufacturing is expected to increase by 400 percent by 2050.

Changes are needed - and quickly

According to the World Resources Institute, drought will affect between up to 40 percent of the planet already by 2020. In India, water demand is expected to exceed available water resources by up to 50 percent by 2030.

We can all contribute

Most of the water (over 90 percent) we use is “virtual water” meaning that it is water used all over the world to produce the food and products we buy. Buying food and products from companies with responsible water management makes a difference.

Green instead of “blue” energy

It's also a huge problem that the electricity sector uses so much water. Even if this is “green” energy we need to change to less water-intensive alternatives such as wind and solar power. Good thing that in just over an hour the sun provides the Earth with enough energy for one whole year. We just need to use it!

Water conflicts

Disagreements over water resources are already becoming a source of conflict. Future wars in the Middle East are more likely to be fought over water than over oil.