What are the factors leading to scarcity of water?
What is Water Scarcity? Scarcity is basically defined as the state of being scarce or in short supply; shortage. So Water Scarcity signifies the shortage of water, an imbalance between the demand and supply of water, also good quality of water i.e potable water.
Water is a very important resource, we use water for almost every activity like drinking, washing, cooking, cleaning, etc. This precious resource is largely getting wasted due to human carelessness and lack of planning and hence we are facing the scarcity of water. According to United Nations, a person needs a minimum of 50 liters of water per day for his basic needs of hygiene, cooking and drinking. But there is a large population which fails to receive this small quantity of water and hence most of the population is getting affected by water scarcity.
Insufficient intake of water causes kidney problems, constipation, and various mental changes. Blood pressure and heat flow in our body are maintained by water. The usable water present on earth, therefore, needs to be saved in order to live a healthy and sustainable living.
Causes of water scarcity - Even though about 71% of earth’s surface is covered with water, most of this water is not fit for consumption. Freshwater is the only source of useful water which is present in very small quantity thus limiting the accessibility to potable water.
- Rainwater is an important source of fresh water. It needs to be harvested so that it can be put to use.
- Human society is overusing water and in many cases wasting it.
- Loss of water due to leakages, excessive use of water for washing purposes, taps left open after use are some common sights that form the basis of the problem of water scarcity.
- Due to the large increase in population, the demand is much more than supply.
- Due to industrialization and urbanization has hugely increased the consumption of water.
What is Water Scarcity?
Scarcity is basically defined as the state of being scarce or in short supply; shortage. So Water Scarcity signifies the shortage of water, an imbalance between the demand and supply of water, also good quality of water i.e potable water.
Water is a very important resource, we use water for almost every activity like drinking, washing, cooking, cleaning, etc. This precious resource is largely getting wasted due to human carelessness and lack of planning and hence we are facing the scarcity of water. According to United Nations, a person needs a minimum of 50 liters of water per day for his basic needs of hygiene, cooking and drinking. But there is a large population which fails to receive this small quantity of water and hence most of the population is getting affected by water scarcity.
Insufficient intake of water causes kidney problems, constipation, and various mental changes. Blood pressure and heat flow in our body are maintained by water. The usable water present on earth, therefore, needs to be saved in order to live a healthy and sustainable living.
Causes of water scarcity- Even though about 71% of earth’s surface is covered with water, most of this water is not fit for consumption. Freshwater is the only source of useful water which is present in very small quantity thus limiting the accessibility to potable water.
- Rainwater is an important source of fresh water. It needs to be harvested so that it can be put to use.
- Human society is overusing water and in many cases wasting it.
- Loss of water due to leakages, excessive use of water for washing purposes, taps left open after use are some common sights that form the basis of the problem of water scarcity.
- Due to the large increase in population, the demand is much more than supply.
- Due to industrialization and urbanization has hugely increased the consumption of water.
