Majority Say Water Supply and Pollution ‘Very Serious’ Problems
As the world’s weather flips more rapidly between the poles of too wet and too dry, the general public is taking notice.

Fifty-eight percent of people who responded to a global public opinion survey on freshwater supply and pollution said that water shortages were a “very serious” problem. A larger share – 62 percent – said the same about water pollution.
How have they been affected by water shortages? Three in 10 respondents said “greatly.”
The survey results indicate growing public awareness and vulnerability to the challenges of water supply and pollution.

Perspective | How Water Partnerships Can Yield Better Results

As Planet Warms, Water Risks Abound
Water still matters.

Last year was evidence that forgotten threats to global prosperity and safety can re-emerge. Covid flared in China as the country abandoned its isolationist policy, a reminder that the pandemic continues to burn. Russia’s saber-rattling against Ukraine lifted the possibility of a major nuclear conflict to levels not seen since the cold war.

A fevered planet, meanwhile, continued to make its own noise.

A third of Pakistan was submerged in late summer after horrendous monsoon floods. Drying rivers from Europe to North America impeded commercial traffic along the Rhine and Mississippi. Parts of Somalia are on the verge of famine. And thousands of drinking water wells went dry in California, even as the state today is being pummeled by winter storms.

The World Economic Forum acknowledged once again that ecological shocks such as these reverberate mightily in politics and society. Environmental risks are prominent in the forum’s latest annual report on the world’s biggest challenges. The shockwaves, it says, are spreading farther.

Circle of Blue brings our readers to the front lines of the biggest stories around the most important issue on the planet: The world’s water.

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