Water security

[3]: 13  Planners often consider water security effects for varied groups when they design climate change reduction strategies.

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report found that increasing weather and climate extreme events have exposed millions of people to acute food insecurity and reduced water security.

Scientists have observed the largest impacts in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Small Islands and the Arctic.

[2] A similar definition of water security by UN-Water is: "the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.

Water conflicts arise for several reasons, including territorial disputes, a fight for resources, and strategic advantage.

[8]: 4–7  Planners take note of water security outcomes for various groups in society when they design strategies for climate change adaptation.

[2] A difficult to manage hydrologic environment is one with absolute water scarcity such as deserts or low-lying lands prone to severe flood risk.

[38] Relative levels of economic development and equality or inequality are strong determinants of community and household scale water security.

In particular women and girls frequently have less access to economic and social opportunities as a directly consequence of being primarily responsible for meeting household water needs.

Other challenges existing climate variability in areas closer to the equator, population growth and increased demand for water resources.

Others include political challenges, increased disaster exposure due to settlement in hazard-prone areas, and environmental degradation.

Geographic variability in water availability, reliability of rainfall and vulnerability to droughts, floods and cyclones are inherent hazards that affect development opportunities.

Strategies employed by households in response to these pressing issues encompass labor intensive methods, such as melting ice, earning wages, and occasionally incurring debt, all aimed at water conservation.

Adjusting consumption patterns becomes imperative, involving the rationing of servings and prioritizing nutritional value, particularly for vulnerable members like small children.

Migration emerges as a viable option, with families fostering children to relatives outside famine zones and engaging in seasonal or permanent resettlement.

As the climate changes, the impact of food and water insecurity is disproportionately felt, necessitating a re-evaluation of societal misconceptions about those making survival sacrifices.

Larger entities, including the government and various organizations, extend assistance based on available resources, highlighting the importance of addressing information gaps in specific data.

[7]: 16, 104  Decision makers invest in institutions, information flows and infrastructure to achieve a high level of water security.

[69][70] Applying knowledge of how climate anomalies relate to each other over long distances can improve seasonal forecasts for specific regions.

[73] Improved understanding of atmospheric processes may allow climate scientists to provide more relevant and localized information to water managers on a seasonal timescale.

These may become more accurate by understanding better how sea surface temperatures in different ocean regions relate to rainfall patterns in this river basin.

This kind of scientific analysis may contribute to improved representation of this region in climate models to assist development planning.

For example, in the case of Africa, investments into groundwater use is an option to increase water security and for climate change adaptation.

[3]: 11 The physical geography of a country shows the correct scale that planners should use for managing water security risks.

[84] Four important activities to achieve climate resilient WASH services include: First, a risk analysis is performed to look at possible implications of extreme weather events as well as preventive actions.

Secondly, managers assess the scope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and put in place suitable options, e.g. using more renewable energy sources.

It says that increasing weather and extreme climate events have led to acute food insecurity and reduced water security for millions of people.

These include aquifers that are getting saltier, seasonal water scarcity, fecal contamination, and flooding from the monsoon and from storm surges due to cyclones.

[88] A program called the "SafePani framework" focuses on how the state shares risks and responsibilities with service providers and communities.

[93] This drought increased water insecurity for more than 8 million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the Somali, Oromia, SNNP and South-West regions.

Ethiopia's move to fill the dam 's reservoir could reduce Nile flows by as much as 25% and devastate Egyptian farmlands. [ 27 ]
Map of global water stress (a symptom of water scarcity) in 2019. Water stress is the ratio of water use relative to water availability and is therefore a demand-driven scarcity. [ 45 ]
Raw sewage and industrial waste in the New River as it passes from Mexicali (Mexico) to Calexico, California
Drinking water quality framework: Environment (including weather events), infrastructure and management affect drinking water quality at the point of collection (PoC) and point of use (PoU). [ 57 ]
Flooded roads in Ponce , Puerto Rico, a week after Hurricane Maria devastated the island (2017).
Rainfall patterns in Ethiopia from Dyer et al., 2019.
Annual rainfall pattern in two regions of Ethiopia. The lines represent observations (red dashed line) and model results (green line) in a climate model study of the region. [ 75 ]
Aggregated global water security index, calculated using the aggregation of water availability, accessibility, safety and quality, and management indices. The value '0–1' (with the continuous color 'red to blue') represents 'low to high' security. [ 86 ]
Rainfall regimes vary across Ethiopia. Left figure: Annual average rainfall in mm/day with the interquartile range (25th–75th) of monthly rainfall in mm/day indicated by black contours (1981–2020). [ 91 ] Right figure: Three rainfall zones in Ethiopia with different seasonal rainfall patterns. The green zone has two separate rainy seasons, and the red zone has a single peak in rainfall in Jun to September.