--- title: UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages Within 15 Years description: If we continue on our current trajectory, we'll only have 60% of the water we need in 2030 canonical: https://time.com/3752643/un-water-shortage-2030/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-20T16:43:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T05:19:30.655Z article:section: Science og:title: UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages Within 15 Years og:description: If we continue on our current trajectory, we'll only have 60% of the water we need in 2030 og:url: https://time.com/3752643/un-water-shortage-2030/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26342a503b823e79/6987848f06f2c153ce334854/india-drinking-water.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3171 og:image:height: 1784 og:image:alt: INDIA-UN-ENVIRONMENT-WATER og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages Within 15 Years twitter:description: If we continue on our current trajectory, we'll only have 60% of the water we need in 2030 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26342a503b823e79/6987848f06f2c153ce334854/india-drinking-water.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages Within 15 Years > Sponsored content. 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[Watch (HLS stream): Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LQufbOt9.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2013-11-11. Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Climate scientist Bill Patzert explains._ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Mar 20, 2015 4:43 PM UTC  Residents in Bangalore wait to collect drinking water in plastic pots for their households on March 18, 2015. Residents in Bangalore wait to collect drinking water in plastic pots for their households on March 18, 2015. Manjunath Kiran—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Mar 20, 2015 4:43 PM UTC The world will only have 60% of the water it needs by 2030 without significant global policy change, according to a [new report from the U.N.](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/231823e.pdf) While countries like India are rapidly depleting their groundwater, rainfall patterns around the world are becoming more unpredictable due to global warming, meaning there will be less water in reserves. Meanwhile, as the population increases, so does demand for potable water, snowballing to a massive problem for our waterways in 15 years’ time. The report suggests several changes of course that nations can take, from increasing water prices to finding new ways of recycling waste water. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Extreme weather was more frequent in recent years. Is it a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? Now, has extreme weather been more frequent in recent years? The evidence is definitely to the contrary. The United States has always had extreme weather. We look back on our weather history. It's been punishing. Floods, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, great forest fires. Is global warming happening? No doubt about it. We're living in a warmer world. We're living in a melting world, sea levels are rising. Now, direct evidence of the foot print or the finger print of global warming, we're seeing more frequent, more intense and longer lasting heat waves. As far as hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, floods and drought; the evidence is definitely not in. The consensus among almost all scientists is, is that it's a small finger print, not a large foot print. But what is true is that in this country, in the United States, we live in many areas with great risk to drought, [ NOISE ] to tornadoes, to hurricanes. And so part of the dialog is not only extreme weather and global warming but is the amount of risk we can tolerate. Now, looking to the future, global change, global warming it definitely is accelerating and it will have an impact on extreme weather. But at this point, not much. 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