Scarcity of fresh water intensifies globally due to climate change and poor management

As climate change impacts grow, securing fresh water for essential daily activities becomes increasingly challenging.

The Associated Press reports.


In short:

  • People worldwide, including in Peru and Indonesia, struggle for access to clean water amid climate change-induced droughts and mismanagement.
  • In regions like Morocco and California, changing environmental conditions and human activities compound water scarcity issues.
  • Innovative solutions, like rainwater harvesting in Kenya, emerge as communities adapt to these challenges.

Key quote:

“Everything was green. We drank from the river and washed with the river. We made a life with it.”

— Mimoun Nadori

Why this matters:

Climate change's significant effects on weather patterns has intensified droughts in some areas while causing floods in others, both scenarios leading to a scarcity of potable water. Overuse and pollution of water sources further exacerbate this scarcity.

Related: Climate change and unbalanced regional political power are driving an ongoing water crisis in Bangladesh.

A woman wearing a wetsuit surfing a wave

Climate crisis is coming to crush many of world’s best surf breaks, study warns

Changing tide levels, shifting sands and hardened shorelines put waves at risk, affecting more than just surfers.

A table with scales of justice and a wooden gavel on top of legal books

Climate lawsuits gain ground as governments scale back climate action

Over the past decade, legal activists have successfully taken a number of national governments to court, triggering the adoption of more climate-friendly policies in countries including the Netherlands, Pakistan, Switzerland, South Korea and others.

A brown brick wall with a metal door in a dry environment

The race for lithium is becoming a race for water

In the arid American West, expanded mining intensifies battles in vulnerable communities over one of the region’s scarcest resources.
A group of white and purple cauliflower

The green revolution may be turning purple

The synthetic fertilizers behind the Green Revolution come at a steep climate cost. A sunlight-powered purple microbe just matched them in a 2-year field trial.
A view of a wildfire spreading across a green landscape

Wildfire smoke evolves as it drifts from wilderness to city

Faced with a warmer, smokier future, scientists work to understand the environmental and health risks of aged wildfire plumes.

Woman wearing an orange sweatshirt holding a sign saying "There is no planet B"

US EPA head announces oil and gas emission rules rollbacks during visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico

Lee Zeldin announced plans for further cancellations of oil and gas regulations aimed at reducing emissions of climate-warming gasses.

An LNG tanker ship and tugs are maneuvering for docking at a gas terminal
Credit: photowrzesien/BigStock Photo ID: 412271062

Inside the web of pro-oil and gas groups shaping Canada’s climate change narrative

New research by Greenpeace Canada lays out connections between pro-fossil fuel groups working together to influence public opinion.

From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.