Describe and explain the global distribution of water scarcity
Fresh water is a finite resource. 80% of global fresh water is trapped in ice, snow or permafrost. The remaining 20% is mainly groundwater, only 1% of this is easily accessible. Around 1.4 billion people lack clean drinking water, 2.4 million people have inadequate sanitation and 0.5 billion face water shortages every day. The distribution of fresh water is uneven, leading to a ‘water gap’.
Water stress is when demand for water exceeds supply, and is quickly becoming a global issue. Water scarcity is a more extreme version of water stress. Physical water scarcity is when a country is utilising more than 75% of the water available to them. Some countries suffer from economic water scarcity. This is when a country is using less than 25% of the water available to them. Greater demand for water than supply of water can cause physical water scarcity because there simply isn’t enough water in specific locations such as North Africa, middle east, California and south east Australia. Places which don’t suffer from physical water scarcity are places such as western Europe, Scandinavia and Canada.
Physical water scarcity is caused by a variety of factors. Demand is outstripping supply because there is a higher population now than 100 years ago. In the last 100 years population has almost quadrupled in size. Increased population growth also means a larger supply for food and agriculture. Californias population is at 37.7 million, containing the megacity of los angeles. The drought from 2000 to 2007 caused major food shortages. In 2008 the government lmitied purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply on the west coast. Economic growth has also increased the demand. Countries require water for economic growth. Economic growth also brings infrastructure, which attracts people, adding to