5 things you need to know about water

The document highlights that agriculture accounts for nearly 70% of global water withdrawals and that climate change is intensifying extreme weather and degrading water quality. It notes that 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking water and 4.5 billion lack sanitary toilets. Additionally, it identifies groundwater as the largest liquid freshwater source, which is currently being overexploited, and describes how water is increasingly used as a weapon or source of conflict in regions like the Middle East.

• Agriculture is the primary driver of freshwater demand, accounting for nearly 70% of all water withdrawals globally, and exceeding 90% in countries with intensive farming such as Pakistan.
• Climate change is altering water distribution and quality by increasing the frequency of floods and droughts, reducing dissolved oxygen in warming waters, and promoting the growth of toxic algal blooms.
• Water is increasingly a catalyst for civic unrest and armed conflict, and is used as a military target or weapon, as seen with the Islamic State's control of the Mosul Dam in 2014 and the bombing of pipelines in Syria in 2015.
• Significant global disparities in water access exist, with approximately 2.1 billion people lacking safe and affordable drinking water and over 4.5 billion lacking sanitary toilet facilities.
• Groundwater is the largest source of liquid freshwater, containing over 25 times the volume of all rivers and lakes combined, yet it is being dramatically overexploited, leading to severe water crises in countries like India.

APA

Walton, B. (2019). 5 things you need to know about water. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-water/

Chicago

Walton, Brett. 5 things you need to know about water. World Economic Forum, 2019. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-water/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Walton |first1=Brett |title=5 things you need to know about water |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=21 March 2019 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-water/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{walton2019things, author = {Walton, Brett}, title = {{5 things you need to know about water}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-water/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }