Half the world’s 100 largest cities are in high water stress areas, analysis finds (www.theguardian.com)
from HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to world@lemmy.world on 22 Jan 2026 12:56
https://sh.itjust.works/post/53886817

Half the world’s 100 largest cities are experiencing high levels of water stress, with 39 of these sitting in regions of “extremely high water stress”, new analysis and mapping has shown.

Water stress means that water withdrawals for public water supply and industry are close to exceeding available supplies, often caused by poor management of water resources exacerbated by climate breakdown.

Watershed Investigations and the Guardian mapped cities on to stressed catchments revealing that Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Delhi are among those facing extreme stress, while London, Bangkok and Jakarta are classed as being highly stressed.

Separate analysis of Nasa satellite data, compiled by scientists at University College London, shows which of the largest 100 cities have been drying or getting wetter over two decades with places such as Chennai, Tehran and Zhengzhou showing strong drying trends and Tokyo, Lagos and Kampala showing strong wetting trends. All 100 cities and their trends can be viewed on a new interactive water security atlas.

#world

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Cherry@piefed.social on 22 Jan 2026 13:21 next collapse

Hmm the map results are not what i expected

ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one on 22 Jan 2026 14:30 next collapse

Don’t worry, people will sell their houses and move to places that there is water.

HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works on 22 Jan 2026 14:50 next collapse

Kind of hard to sell a house that has no access to potable water.

ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one on 22 Jan 2026 21:53 collapse

It’s a reference to Hbomberguy’s response to a really dumb Ben Shapiro statement.

For reference: youtu.be/0-w-pdqwiBw

HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works on 22 Jan 2026 23:19 collapse

Ah. My apologies. Thanks for the explanation.

GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social on 22 Jan 2026 21:07 collapse

& like there is much space for them, right!

Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org on 22 Jan 2026 15:50 collapse

World Enters “Era of Global Water Bankruptcy” - UN Scientists Formally Define New Post-Crisis Reality for Billions

“Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era,” (here is the full report, opens pdf) argues that the familiar terms “water stressed” and “water crisis” fail to reflect today’s reality in many places: a post-crisis condition marked by irreversible losses of natural water capital and an inability to bounce back to historic baselines.