77-State of Water Resources in Africa and South Asia - 2020s - Environmental Destruction

77-State of Water Resources in Africa and South Asia - 2020s - Environmental Destruction

The State of Water Resources in Africa and South Asia - The 2020s

In the 2020s, Africa and South Asia face a serious water crisis. Approximately 418,000,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to safe drinking water, and rapid population growth in urban areas is straining water supplies. In Lagos, Nigeria, more than 1000000000 liters of water are needed annually as of 2023, but aging infrastructure often causes water outages due to inadequate supply capacity. In the Gauteng Province of South Africa, a drought has caused a 20% shortfall in water supply, causing severe socioeconomic impacts.

In South Asia, over-pumping of groundwater has contaminated 25% of Bangladesh's groundwater with arsenic, with more than 1,000 people suffering from poisoning and chronic diseases annually. In Ethiopia and Kenya, droughts have reduced agricultural yields by more than 30%, and water prices have soared to 400% of normal levels, making life difficult for the poor. These problems have also caused people to migrate, and by 2021, approximately 140,000,000 people across Africa will have lost their homes due to climate disasters and droughts.

In response to this crisis, Veolia of France and BASF of Germany are introducing wastewater recycling technologies to promote sustainable management of water resources. In addition, the World Bank is investing $5 billion by 2030 to alleviate the water crisis through infrastructure development. In addition, glaciers in the Mt. Kilimanjaro and Rwenzori ranges are shrinking by 0.5% annually, which is feared to lead to reduced precipitation in the region and worsening agricultural production.