Water scarcity
Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the past century — to the point that now about 2.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water; another 4.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation. Further, as climate change alters weather patterns, areas such as the Mediterranean region and southern Africa may face reduced rainfall — placing the 1 billion people who live in these already dry regions at risk of increased water scarcity.