According to environmental experts, at least 100 million people in the world live in arid regions with extremely limited supplies of fresh water. From year to year, the population of these regions is experiencing difficulties with water supply. The situation is aggravated by population growth, mineralization of the already scarce available water sources and their pollution. How difficult is it to live in a lack of clean water?
Instructions
Step 1
A lack of water leads to much more serious consequences than a lack of food. Without moisture in hot weather, a person suddenly loses vitality and can die of dehydration in a very short time. Studies show that without water, a person is able to hold out on average only 4-6 days.
Step 2
Lack of water has an extremely negative effect on the ability of the population to lead a normal life, maintain cleanliness, hygiene and observe basic sanitary standards. Indeed, the average American uses more water during a five-minute shower than a person living in an arid region can afford to spend an entire day for all their needs.
Step 3
It is therefore not surprising that the population of countries experiencing water shortages suffers from diseases caused by bacteria. More than half of the hospital beds there are occupied by people with diseases associated with poor-quality water. A significant part of the time the inhabitants of arid regions spend on the extraction of water of any quality, not neglecting even the one that is obtained from contaminated sources.
Step 4
According to the UN, areas prone to drought cover at least 40% of the planet's land mass. Almost everywhere, drought is accompanied by poverty of broad strata of the population and hunger, which leads to social tension, causes migration, and destabilizes the political situation. In these regions, armed conflicts also occur most often.
Step 5
The greatest problems with water are experienced by the population of certain regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and a number of Arab states. Princeton University, one of the oldest research centers in the United States, is currently developing a system to track and predict drought in sub-Saharan Africa. The economy and life of the population of this part of the continent is most dependent on agriculture in need of irrigation.
Step 6
The world community, represented by the UN, is taking a number of measures to provide arid regions with water suitable for human consumption and for domestic needs, and an equitable distribution of this resource. But the forces and resources allocated for the solution of such a task are clearly not enough. The problem is complex and requires a pooling of efforts by environmentalists, business representatives and the governments of the countries concerned.
