Blog Posts: water risk

While more than one-third of China still suffers from high water stress, there are signs of improvement: New WRI analysis shows that the rate of increase in the country's water withdrawals has slowed from 5.1 billion cubic meters per year in 2001-2010 to 1.6 billion cubic meters per year from 2010-2015.

Cape Town, South Africa has been in the news for its impending "Day Zero," when the city will shut off taps and start rationing water, but its reservoirs aren't the only ones shrinking. Satellite images reveal dwindling water supplies in Morocco, India, Iraq and Spain.

Cape Town, South Africa is poised to shut off water taps for homes and businesses in the next few months. Is the next "Day Zero" coming to a city near you?

Toxic air pollution. Plastic-filled oceans. Sucking carbon from the skies. These are just a few of the stories that will shape 2018's legacy.

Fourteen of India’s 20 largest thermal utilities experienced at least one shutdown due to water shortages between 2013-2016, at a cost of $1.4 billion. It's a taste of what's to come in a warmer, more crowded world.

Power plants use a lot of water for cooling, but most don't disclose how much. A new WRI methodology calculates their thirst by using Google Earth images.

Water stress is causing unrest, undermining economies and ultimately driving people to leave their homes. To explore this vast topic in greater depth, Aqueduct Director Charles Iceland pens a WRI Commentary—a new content type that is longer than our typical blogs—on conflict and water.

The global water crisis can be summed up in these "seven deadly sins," from climate change to leaky infrastructure, that water researchers and officials will try to tackle during the 2017 World Water Week.

As they struggle to care for farms and families in a changing climate, women in the developing world face unfair burdens related to their gender. A shift in approaches could increase agricultural yields and advance equal rights.

Thermal power plants rely on water for cooling, which means droughts can push generation offline. In India, reports describe this vulnerability—itself just another reason to speed the transition to renewables.