UN Official Warns of Future Water Shortage

  • 11 years ago
A UN official warns of future water shortage.

Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon warned that the world might run out of freshwater unless better goals for biodiversity, sustainable development and water security are implemented.

He released a statement for the International Day of Biological Diversity that said: “We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards. Under current trends, future demands for water will not be met.”

And he went on to mention the interdependence of the water cycle and natural biodiversity in the world’s ecosystems.

The amount of freshwater available in the world is being affected by climate change.

For example, one of the world’s sources of drinking water is glaciers, which are melting at a rapid rate.

In the past hundred years, Glacier National Park has gone from an estimated 150 glaciers, to less than 30 total, with many of the remaining glaciers having shrunk significantly.

This is a world wide trend that includes a visible decrease in Arctic sea ice, the snows of Kilimanjaro, and glaciers in the Himalayan region.

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