Events of the past year — torrential floods, exhausting droughts, deadly heat waves — sharpened focus that society must be better prepared for these climate changes. This reconciliation will be at the forefront of the United Nation’s 26th Climate Conference in Glasgow, which runs from October 31 to November 12.

Water has been relatively neglected in past UN climate conventions. This time around, water experts are hoping to change that.

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HotSpots H2O: New Report Urges Policymakers to ‘Wake Up to the Looming Water Crisis’

The world is behind schedule to achieve global water and sanitation goals, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization.

In order to secure universal access to clean water by 2030—the target date for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals—the current rate of progress would need to quadruple, the report found. Climate change is only making the situation more dire, as warming temperatures continue to worsen droughts, floods, and other water-related hazards.

A comprehensive UN climate report released in August found that if atmospheric warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius, an additional 8 percent of the world’s population would be exposed to water scarcity. By 2050, more than 5 billion people are expected to have inadequate access to water at least one month per year, up from 3.6 billion in 2018.

What’s Up With Water — October 11, 2021

Featured coverage from this week's episode of What's Up With Water looks at: 

• On October 1, the UN Human Rights Office called for an equitable distribution of water between Israel and Palestine.
• In the United States, officials in the Great Lakes region are turning to emergency water sources for two communities contending with contaminated drinking water.
• In Michigan, the state Department of Health and Human Services is recommending that 10,000 residents of Benton Harbor use bottled water for cooking, drinking, and brushing teeth.

5 Things You Need To Know About Water And Climate

This article originally appeared on the World Economic Forum’s website.

In the Global Risks Report 2016, which draws attention to ways that global risks could evolve and interact in the next decade, water crises features highly. Circle of Blue identifies five reasons why. 

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