Some of us have the luxury of not worrying about whether we’ll have enough fresh water to drink, cook, and bathe. Over 3 billion people around the world, however, face water shortages on a regular basis as the supply of available fresh water continues to diminish.

Climate change, improper water management, and a growing demand by the population for fresh water has led to a variety of water scarcity and drought issues across the globe. This lack of water availability could lead to a severe food shortage for billions of people if the water crisis continues unchecked.

The United Nations’ State of Food and Agriculture 2020 report warns of this serious issue. It notes that over 10% of rainfed cropland and 14% of rainfed pastureland in the world face frequent drought. These rainfed agricultural holdings produce about 60% of the world’s crops. Other agricultural lands that are irrigated, rather than rainfed, also face water scarcity issues as the process of irrigation can lead to water waste, the depletion of underground aquifers, and poor water management. 

As larger companies take over a growing proportion of the world’s farmland, smaller, more environmentally sustainable farms are being run out of business. Currently, 70% of the world’s farmland is operated by 1% of the world’s farms. 

In order to address these issues of water scarcity driven by climate change and inefficient and improper water management, we must learn how to better manage the limited water resources that are available. Although this year’s food harvests around the world have been good overall, certain areas of the world could face severe food scarcity issues in the very near future.