London and UK cities could run out of water 'in 25 years' amid severe drought warning
16.05.2022 - 09:53
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Cities around the world, including the UK and its capital, could run out of water 'in 25 years' because of growing risks from drought driven by climate change, according to a report from Christian Aid. Severe droughts in London and the South East of England, in the “famously rainy UK”, could cost the capital’s economy £330 million a day, it says.
London already receives about half the amount of rain that falls in New York City, and climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of droughts in the region. With a growing population, this could put serious stress on the capital’s ageing water supply system, the report says.
Christian Aid also warned the toll of water shortages will be felt most by poor people in cities such as Harare, Zimbabwe and Kabul, Afghanistan. It is calling for an international fund to pay for loss and damage from climate impacts.
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The report highlights that less than 3% of the world’s water is suitable for drinking, and most of that is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. Only 0.01% of the world’s water is easily available for human use in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and aquifers, but global water use grew at more than twice the rate of population increases over the 20th century, the charity said.
More than half the world’s population live in cities – with the figure expected to rise to 68% by 2050 – and many are already feeling the strain of water shortages. Cape Town in South Africa came within days of becoming the first major city in the world to run out of water after extended drought in 2018, and people have been queuing for water in New Delhi amid a scorching heatwave.
The report, which