Glossary

Water scarcity

Water scarcity occurs when there are not enough water resources to meet existing water needs. There is a global scarcity of water because freshwater is unevenly distributed geographically and seasonally. The main reasons for an increase in water scarcity worldwide are the growing world population, rising standards of living, changing consumer behavior and an expansion of artificial irrigation in agriculture. Other reasons include climate change, for example changes in weather behavior (droughts and floods), deforestation, increasing water pollution as well as wasteful water consumption and inefficient water supply. Thus, water scarcity is often caused by anthropogenic interventions in the water cycle.