By 2050, more than 5 billion people will face water shortages

According to the report of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) "The State of Global Water Resources", by 2050, more than five billion people on Earth will face various degrees of water scarcity.

Based on an analysis of the effects of climate, environmental and social changes on Earth's water resources, WMO has published its first report on the topic. The document gives an idea of the global volume of fresh water reserves, and also shows the weak state of the earth's cryosphere (snow and ice).

It also reports, based on facts, that much of the world will experience drier weather than usual in 2021.

"In recent years, the effects of climate change have been increasingly felt through water resources: we have seen more severe and frequent droughts, extreme floods, uneven seasonal precipitation and rapid melting of glaciers," noted Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the WMO.

Currently, 3.6 billion people are faced with insufficient access to water at least one month a year. It is predicted that by 2050, this figure will exceed five billion.

In addition, it is reported that from 2001 to 2018, 74 percent of all natural disasters on earth were water-related. At the recent 27th UN Climate Change Conference, water was mentioned for the first time as an important indicator and resource in the final document of the forum.