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January 20, 2026<\/p>\n
1 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n World has entered an era of \u2018global water bankruptcy,\u2019 U.N. warns<\/p>\n Humans are using more water than Earth can support, with many water sources already damaged beyond repair, a report from the United Nations found<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n An irrigation ditch carries a light flow of water along agricultural fields amid drought conditions in June 2022 near Fillmore, Calif.<\/p>\n Humans use more water than the planet can support, entering an era of \u201cglobal water bankruptcy,\u201d a new report from the United Nations warns. Almost 75 percent of the world\u2019s population now lives in countries that are experiencing significant water insecurity, according to the report.<\/p>\n Rivers, lakes, wetlands and other water sources are already \u201cdamaged beyond realistic prospects of full recovery,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n The report compares the situation to a bank account going into the red: humans are using more water than our planet can produce and using more water that is stored in sources such as glaciers, wetlands and aquifers.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n The impacts extend beyond drinking water, the report states. Kaveh Madani, director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and author of the report, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that a functioning water system helps prevent biodiversity loss, fights climate change and supports national security.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you invest in water, you\u2019re investing in everything else,\u201d Madani said.<\/p>\n The report stresses that countries must take immediate action to put more sustainable water systems in place. \u201cRecognizing this post-crisis reality is not an act of resignation,\u201d the report states. It is a \u201cstarting point\u201d to safeguard water \u201cbefore the remaining natural capital is lost.\u201d<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. 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I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January 20, 2026 1 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm World has entered an era of \u2018global water bankruptcy,\u2019 U.N. warns Humans are using more water than Earth can support, with many water sources already damaged beyond repair, a report from the United Nations found By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron An<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[1465,8644,6338,1123,14252,1060,1183,550],"class_list":{"0":"post-42209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-bankruptcy","9":"tag-entered","10":"tag-era","11":"tag-global","12":"tag-u-n","13":"tag-warns","14":"tag-water","15":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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