Aqueduct 4.0 Current and Future Global Maps Data

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Please find the methodology and data calculation descriptions in the technical note, here: Aqueduct 4.0: Updated Decision-Relevant Global Water Risk Indicators

Water is essential to the progress of human societies. It is required for a healthy environment and a thriving economy. Food production, electricity generation, and manufacturing, among other things, all depend on it. However, many decision-makers lack the technical expertise to fully understand hydrological information.

In response to growing concerns from the private sector and other actors about water availability, water quality, climate change, and increasing demand, WRI applied the composite index approach as a robust communication tool to translate hydrological data into intuitive indicators of water-related risks.

This dataset provides users with Aqueduct™ 4.0, the latest iteration of WRI’s water risk framework designed to translate complex hydrological data into intuitive indicators of water-related risk. It consists of 13 baseline water risk indicators spanning quantity, quality, and reputational concerns. Aqueduct 4.0 adds new future projections of water supply, demand, stress, depletion, and variability based on CMIP6 climate projections for 3 milestone years: 2030, 2050, and 2080.

This database includes:

• 13 indicators representing baseline annual water risks.
• 3 indicators representing baseline monthly water risks.
• 6 indicators representing future projections of annual water risks.

Key elements of Aqueduct, such as overall water risk, cannot be directly measured and therefore are not validated. Aqueduct remains primarily a prioritization tool and should be augmented by local and regional deep dives.