One in four living with extreme water stress – these are the countries worst affected
A quarter of the world’s population is currently exposed to extremely high annual water stress, according to new data from the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The WRI’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas found 25 countries are currently suffering from extreme water stress every year – with Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon and Oman the worst affected.
Scroll down for a list of the countries most affected
An even higher proportion is exposed to water stress at least some of the time.
Currently, half of the world’s population endure extremely high water stress at least one month of the year, a number the WRI predicts will rise to 60% by 2050.
By then an additional one billion people are expected to have to live with extreme water stress, even if global temperature rises are limited to between 1.3C and 2.4C by 2100.
Pic: World Resources Institute
Current policies put the planet on track to warm by approximately 2.4C above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.
“People like to think about climate change as the biggest existential threat to humanity,” says Crystal Davis, global director of WRI’s Food, Land and Water Program.
“But water stress is climate change’s deadliest and most used weapon.
“Water is essential to nearly every crisis we face, because when we don’t have enough water, we don’t produce enough food or energy.
“We can’t keep people healthy, wildfires intensify, people migrate, conflict ensues, and equality worsens.”
What is water stress?
Water stress is a measure of how much of its available water supply a country must use to meet demand.
The WRI says countries are experiencing “extreme water stress” when they are using over 80% of their renewable water supply every year.
Pic: World Resources Institute
The higher the water stress, the more vulnerable a country is to water shortages, especially during periods of peak demand like during a heatwave.
What happens when countries use all their water?
“If a country is using 100% of its available supply, usually you’re going to start to see a few bad things happen,” says Charles Iceland, director of Freshwater Initiatives at the WRI.
“Groundwater levels drop, rivers dry up, lakes dry up, wetlands dry up and we’re seeing that across places in the Middle East, like Iraq and Iran.”
Water stress also has a particularly large impact on a country’s agriculture and energy production.
Currently, 60% of the world’s irrigated agriculture is grown in areas with extreme water stress, meaning crops are at a heightened risk of failing in periods of dry weather.
Some forms of energy production also rely on water, which is used to generate hydropower or to cool power plants.
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Europe has a water problem. Rising temperatures mean its snow is melting, rivers are dwindling, canals are drying up and punishing droughts persist
What can be done?
Previous analysis by the WRI calculated that it would cost about 1% of global GDP to achieve water security for the whole world by 2030.
Methods that could be used to do this include making water usage in agriculture more efficient, treating and reusing wastewater and employing nature-based solutions.
But they say these solutions will struggle to be implemented without the necessary political will and financial backing.
Where has the highest water stress?
The worst affected region is North Africa and the Middle East, where 83% of the population is currently exposed to extremely high water stress. By 2050 that figure is expected to rise to 100% of the population.
Pic: World Resources Institute
South Asia is the second worst affected region, with 74% of the population there exposed to extremely high water stress.
The 25 counties currently experiencing extreme water stress annually are (in order):
1. Bahrain
2. Cyprus
3. Kuwait
4. Lebanon
5. Oman
6. Qatar
7. United Arab Emirates
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Israel
10. Egypt
11. Libya
12. Yemen
13. Botswana
14. Iran
15. Jordan
16. Chile
17. San Marino
18. Belgium
19. Greece
20. Tunisia
21. Namibia
22. South Africa
23. Iraq
24. India
25. Syria
World
Suspects arrested over Louvre heist ‘partially admit involvement’ – as officials address inside job theory
The two suspects arrested over the Louvre jewellery heist have “partially” confessed to their involvement in the robbery, according to a prosecutor.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed the development at a news conference on Wednesday.
Four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the world-famous Paris museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels. They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift.
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Suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially confessed’
Ms Beccuau also said the jewels had not yet been recovered.
“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” said Ms Beccuau. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”
‘No evidence’
Ms Beccuau also addressed reports that police believe the robbery could have been an inside job.
She said that there was “no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help”.
Under French rules for organised theft, custody can run up to 96 hours. That limit is due to expire late on Wednesday, and prosecutors must charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speaks during a press conference about the investigation into the Louvre robbery. Pic: Reuters
One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
Ms Beccuau said that he was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences.
The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” said Ms Beccuau.
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Louvre jewels ‘have not returned’
The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind, she added.
Earlier, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told politicians that ageing security systems had left weak spots.
“A technological step has not been taken,” he said.
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Mr Faure also revealed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and had not been renewed.
He said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Mr Faure also rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast and mobile thieves.
“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”
World
Israel carries out fresh strike on Gaza and accuses Hamas of preparing ‘imminent terror attack’
The Israeli military says it has carried out a fresh strike on Gaza, in a move that will further raise concerns about the fragility of its ceasefire with Hamas.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted the strike on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
It said the site was being used to store weapons that it claimed were “intended to be used for the execution of an imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers”.
“IDF soldiers in the southern command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” a spokesperson said.
People living in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in Gaza and saw a column of smoke.
Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered earlier strikes after claiming troops had come under fire. Pic: Reuters
It comes after hospital officials said at least 104 people, including 46 children, had been killed overnight in Gaza after Israel launched new strikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after an Israeli official reported that troops had come under fire in southern Gaza.
Israel claimed a soldier was killed on Tuesday afternoon by “enemy fire” in the southern city of Rafah.
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Israel says one of its soldiers killed in Gaza
The decision also followed Hamas’s handover on Monday of body parts that Israel said belonged to a hostage whose remains were partly recovered earlier in the conflict.
Hamas has denied any role in the Rafah shooting and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.
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The recent ‘ferocious’ attacks are the deadliest strikes since the ceasefire agreement took hold earlier this month.
‘Nothing is going to jeopardise the ceasefire’
US President Donald Trump had said the ceasefire was not at risk, telling reporters: “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier.”
He added: “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back. Nothing is going to jeopardise [the ceasefire].
“You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”
Following the latest strikes, the Israeli military said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement. It added that it would respond firmly to “any violation”.
Donald Trump said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was not at risk. Pic: Reuters
‘Very disappointing and frustrating’
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and the following airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.
Qatar had been leading peace efforts in Gaza, along with the US and Egypt.
At the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, al-Thani said Hamas militants had been clear they were prepared to give up governance of the enclave, which they have run since 2007.
He added that Qatar had been pushing them to acknowledge that they need to disarm.
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