The Thirsty Planet: I’ll tell you how the global water cycle crisis is threatening our future

“We are pushing the global water cycle out of balance,” he warns Johan Rockströmco-president of Global Commission on Water Economics. “We can no longer rely on rainfall.” A new report sounds the alarm: water mismanagement and the climate crisis they are putting at risk the delicate mechanism that regulates life on our planet.

Three billion people already suffer from water scarcity. By 2050, the water crisis could put more than 50% of global food production at risk And reduce countries’ GDP by an average of 8%.

Simply put, we are altering the complex system that allows blue gold to circulate between land, atmosphere and oceans. Decades of land use, deforestation and water mismanagement, exacerbated by the climate crisis, have led to “unprecedented stress” on this vital mechanism.

But what exactly is happening? Water evaporates from seas, rivers, lakes and plants, rises into the atmosphere, travels long distances and returns to earth as rain or snow. This cycle, essential for life on Earth, is today in danger. The report, published by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, highlights the importance of distinguish between “blue water” (the liquid one present in rivers, lakes and aquifers) e “green water” (the moisture present in the soil and plants).

Green water, often overlooked, it is essential for the water cycle: It evaporates from plants and helps generate about half of the precipitation on land. Its conservation is vital to the health of the Earth, because it directly influences the amount of rain that falls on a given region.

An ecosystem in crisis

The water crisis is closely linked to climate change. Vegetation, which depends on green water, it absorbs large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Deforestation and destruction of wetlandssuch as swamps and peatlands, reduce the planet’s capacity to store carbon. In addition to releasing huge amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, deforestation further exacerbates the water crisis. The trees, in fact, they play a fundamental role in the water cycle: they absorb water from the soil and release it into the atmosphere through transpiration, helping to maintain air humidity and regulate precipitation.

The destruction of forests reduces the planet’s capacity to store carbon and interrupts the water cycle, increasing the risk of drought and desertification and accelerating global warming.

In turn, rising temperatures cause desertification of the land, reducing humidity and increasing the risk of fires.

“Human activities are altering the structure of our Earth and the air above it, intensifying both wet and dry extremes,” he says Richard Allanprofessor of climatology atUniversity of Reading. “We are seeing increased flooding in some areas and devastating droughts in others.”

The consequences of this imbalance are already evident: crops withering, cities collapsing due to depleted aquifers, and billions of people struggling to survive without access to clean water.

An uncertain future

The report predicts that by 2050 global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40%.

“The global water crisis is a tragedy, but also an opportunity to transform the water economy,” he says Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealageneral director ofWorld Trade Organization. “Properly valuing water is essential to recognizing its scarcity and the many benefits it offers.”

What can we do?

The report calls on governments around the world to recognize the water cycle as a “commons” and act collectively to protect it. Countries are interdependent, not only because of the rivers and lakes they share, but also because of the water in the atmosphere, which can travel thousands of kilometers.

The report proposes five “missions” to address the water crisis:

  1. Revolution in food systems: improve water efficiency in agriculture and reduce dependence on water-intensive foods;
  2. Conservation of natural habitats: protect and restore forests, wetlands and other ecosystems crucial to the water cycle;
  3. Circular water economy: reuse wastewater and reduce losses in water networks;
  4. Clean energy and low water intensity artificial intelligence: develop technologies that minimize the impact on the water cycle;
  5. Universal access to drinking water: ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all by 2030.

These missions require an integrated and multi-sectoral approach, with the participation of governments, businesses and civil society. The Global Commission on the Water Economy highlights the importance of investing in innovation, research and development to create sustainable and resilient solutions.

“We need to think radically about how we will preserve freshwater sources, how we will use it much more efficiently, and how we will be able to have access to available freshwater for every community, including the most vulnerable,” he said Tharman Shanmugaratnamco-chair of the commission.