India is home to the highest number of rural people without access to clean water, and faces increased strain on scarce resources due to a rising population and climate change among other factors, a development charity said on Tuesday.
WaterAid said over 63 million rural Indians - the equivalent of the population of Britain - do not have clean water to drink, cook or wash with, largely due to remote locations, weak infrastructure and poor planning.
China ranked second with almost 44 million rural people without clean water in WaterAid's report. Nigeria and Ethiopia were in third place - each with more than 40 million rural people without safe water, according to the study released ahead of World Water Day on March 22.
"A majority of these people come from poor rural communities and any significant variation in the climate only worsens their daily struggle to access clean water," V.K. Madhavan, WaterAid India's Chief Executive, said in a statement.
"With 27 out of the 35 states and union territories in India disaster prone, the poorest and the most marginalised across the country will bear the brunt of extreme weather events and climate change and will find it the hardest to adapt."
Around 663 million people globally are without clean water, with almost 80 percent - 522 million - living in rural areas, WaterAid said.
Many are in countries that are already highly vulnerable to extreme weather such as cyclones, floods and droughts. The rise in climate-linked extreme weather events is likely not only worsen their plight, but also leave millions more water insecure, it said.
Diseases such as cholera, blinding trachoma, malaria and dengue are expected to become more common and malnutrition more prevalent. Rural farming communities will struggle to grow food and feed livestock amid soaring temperatures.
Despite being one of the world's fastest growing economies, India ranks amongst countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, yet least ready to adapt, according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has prioritised sanitation since sweeping to power in 2014 - launching a "Clean India" campaign which aims to provide toilets for all and end open defecation in the country by 2019.
But the task is mammoth.
Around 76 million Indians need improved water sources and 770 million require proper toilets, WaterAid said. As a result, 68,000 children under five die annually due to diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, it added.
Most wastewater released is untreated, putting millions at risk
Wastewater from households, industries and agriculture, if treated, could be a valuable resource rather than a costly problem, United Nations experts in a report on Wednesday.
Treating and recycling wastewater would not only reduce pollution but could help meet growing demand for freshwater and other raw materials, they said.
Below are some facts on wastewater to tie in with World Water Day on Wednesday:
- More than 80 percent of wastewater worldwide is released without treatment, contaminating rivers and lakes.
- On average, low-income countries treat only 8 percent of domestic and industrial wastewater. High-income countries treat 70 percent.
- Pollution from human and animal waste affects nearly one in three rivers in Latin America, Asia and Africa, putting millions of lives at risk.
- In 2012, 842,000 deaths in low- and middle-income countries were linked to contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60 percent of the urban population live in slums.
- The Nigerian city of Lagos generates 1.5 million cubic meters of wastewater every day, most of which ends up untreated in the Lagos Lagoon.
- Discharge of untreated wastewater into the sea partially explains the rapid growth of deoxygenated dead zones. An area roughly the size of Britain is so far affected, having an impact on fisheries, livelihoods and food chains.
- At least 50 countries use wastewater for agricultural irrigation, raising the risk of pathogens contaminating crops.
- Two thirds of the world's population live in areas experiencing water scarcity at least one month a year.
- By 2030, global demand for water is expected to grow by 50 percent.
- The International Space Station has been using the same water for 17 years.
- In Israel, treated wastewater accounts for more than 40 percent of all water used for irrigation.
- It is estimated more than a fifth of global phosphorous demand could be met by recycling human urine and faeces.
Source: U.N. World Water Development Report "Wastewater: the Untapped Resource"
Number of rural Indians without clean water equivalent to UK population - charity
India is home to the highest number of rural people without access to clean water, and faces increased strain on scarce resources due to a rising population and climate change among other factors, a development charity said on Tuesday.
WaterAid said over 63 million rural Indians - the equivalent of the population of Britain - do not have clean water to drink, cook or wash with, largely due to remote locations, weak infrastructure and poor planning.
China ranked second with almost 44 million rural people without clean water in WaterAid's report. Nigeria and Ethiopia were in third place - each with more than 40 million rural people without safe water, according to the study released ahead of World Water Day on March 22.
"A majority of these people come from poor rural communities and any significant variation in the climate only worsens their daily struggle to access clean water," V.K. Madhavan, WaterAid India's Chief Executive, said in a statement.
"With 27 out of the 35 states and union territories in India disaster prone, the poorest and the most marginalised across the country will bear the brunt of extreme weather events and climate change and will find it the hardest to adapt."
Around 663 million people globally are without clean water, with almost 80 percent - 522 million - living in rural areas, WaterAid said.
Many are in countries that are already highly vulnerable to extreme weather such as cyclones, floods and droughts. The rise in climate-linked extreme weather events is likely not only worsen their plight, but also leave millions more water insecure, it said.
Diseases such as cholera, blinding trachoma, malaria and dengue are expected to become more common and malnutrition more prevalent. Rural farming communities will struggle to grow food and feed livestock amid soaring temperatures.
Despite being one of the world's fastest growing economies, India ranks amongst countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, yet least ready to adapt, according to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has prioritised sanitation since sweeping to power in 2014 - launching a "Clean India" campaign which aims to provide toilets for all and end open defecation in the country by 2019.
But the task is mammoth.
Around 76 million Indians need improved water sources and 770 million require proper toilets, WaterAid said. As a result, 68,000 children under five die annually due to diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation, it added.
Most wastewater released is untreated, putting millions at risk
Wastewater from households, industries and agriculture, if treated, could be a valuable resource rather than a costly problem, United Nations experts in a report on Wednesday.
Treating and recycling wastewater would not only reduce pollution but could help meet growing demand for freshwater and other raw materials, they said.
Below are some facts on wastewater to tie in with World Water Day on Wednesday:
- More than 80 percent of wastewater worldwide is released without treatment, contaminating rivers and lakes.
- On average, low-income countries treat only 8 percent of domestic and industrial wastewater. High-income countries treat 70 percent.
- Pollution from human and animal waste affects nearly one in three rivers in Latin America, Asia and Africa, putting millions of lives at risk.
- In 2012, 842,000 deaths in low- and middle-income countries were linked to contaminated water and inadequate sanitation.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60 percent of the urban population live in slums.
- The Nigerian city of Lagos generates 1.5 million cubic meters of wastewater every day, most of which ends up untreated in the Lagos Lagoon.
- Discharge of untreated wastewater into the sea partially explains the rapid growth of deoxygenated dead zones. An area roughly the size of Britain is so far affected, having an impact on fisheries, livelihoods and food chains.
- At least 50 countries use wastewater for agricultural irrigation, raising the risk of pathogens contaminating crops.
- Two thirds of the world's population live in areas experiencing water scarcity at least one month a year.
- By 2030, global demand for water is expected to grow by 50 percent.
- The International Space Station has been using the same water for 17 years.
- In Israel, treated wastewater accounts for more than 40 percent of all water used for irrigation.
- It is estimated more than a fifth of global phosphorous demand could be met by recycling human urine and faeces.
Source: U.N. World Water Development Report "Wastewater: the Untapped Resource"
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