Each year we extract 4,000 cubic kilometers of water, eight times more than a century ago. We consume it in kitchens and bathrooms, factories and power plants; we use it to irrigate our crops. Growing populations and aspirations drive a growing demand for water.
Worldwide, more and more people are living under conditions of water scarcity, meaning the demand for water in their region exceeds the renewable supply for at least one month of the year. This now affects more than a third of the global population.
This graph tracks the total area of land worldwide that is irrigated with non-renewable groundwater—at 33 million hectares, it’s now roughly the size of Germany—and what percentage that represents of the world’s total irrigated cropland. Groundwater depletion is a growing threat to food security.
A water gap arises when human demand exceeds the renewable supply—from rivers, lakes, and shallow aquifers refreshed by rain.
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