Cities around the world, from London to Beijing and New Delhi, are facing a growing risk of droughts caused by climate change, according to a report by Christian Aid.
The charity has warned that poor people in cities such as Harare, Zimbabwe and Kabul, Afghanistan will be the most affected by water scarcity. It called for an international fund to pay for losses and damage from climate impacts.
The report highlights that less than 3% of the world’s water is suitable for drinking, much of which is locked in glaciers and ice caps.
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Only 0.01% of the world’s water is readily available to humans in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and aquifers, but global water use is growing at more than twice the rate of population growth in the 20th century, the charity said.
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities – a figure expected to rise to 68% by 2050 – and many are already feeling the pinch of water scarcity.
Cape Town in South Africa became the world’s first major city to run out of water within days after a prolonged drought in 2018, with people queuing in New Delhi for water amid a sweltering heatwave.
London and south-east England could run out of water within 25 years, the report warns, with severe drought costing the capital’s economy £330m a day.
London already receives about half as much rainfall as New York City, and climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of droughts in the region. As the population grows, this could put severe strain on the capital’s aging water system, the report said.
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It looks at the future water supply for drinking, washing and growing crops to feed 10 major global cities, and warns that if action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb the rising risk of climate-related droughts, the poor will suffer the worst blow.
Urban dwellers with lower incomes may end up having to pay more for water from private providers, and cities in poorer countries are more vulnerable because they have fewer resources to adapt to climate change and water Shortages can lead to conflict.
The charity’s poll showed more than a third of people supported requiring rich countries to pay to limit the effects of the drought, a more popular option than expected to be paid by affected countries or by individuals or private companies.
Nearly half of more than 2,200 Britons surveyed after the heatwave hit the UK said they were now concerned about the impact of the drought on people in the country, but nearly two-thirds agreed they had never seen advice on how to protect themselves free from it.
Report co-author Nushrat Rahman Chowdhury of Christian Aid said: “Droughts are not new, but they have increased in intensity and frequency over the past 30 years due to global warming.
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“This is a real danger; it threatens the lives and livelihoods of some of the world’s poorest people. These communities are doing the least to cause the climate crisis. This is what is called the reality of loss and damage.
“To address this injustice, we need to not only reduce emissions, but also provide financial support for those losses that cannot be accommodated.
“That’s why at this year’s UN climate talks in Egypt, we called for the establishment of a loss and damage financing mechanism as a major priority.”
Dr Frederic Otto, of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, conducted a study of Cape Town’s drought in 2018 and found that climate change made it about three times more likely.
“Changing rainfall and higher temperatures – the result of greenhouse gas emissions – are making droughts more common and severe in parts of the world.
“Until net greenhouse gas emissions cease, the risk of drought threatening urban water supplies will continue to increase,” she warned.
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Emily Beament is the PA Environmental Correspondent.
