Signal Half of humanity under seasonal water stress, 1.8 billion in absolute scarcity

Summary

Eurasia Group reports that about half of the world's population experiences water stress for at least one month every year. Some 1.8 billion people face absolute water scarcity. Population growth and fast urbanisation are putting pressure on river basins that are already overused, and big cities such as Chennai, Mexico City and Tehran have come close to, or reached, running out of water. Rising energy demand is also encouraging new hydropower dams at the same time as the rivers feeding them run lower. The report presents these figures as the underlying conditions that are turning water into a security issue.