--- 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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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather? [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. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3752643/un-water-shortage-2030/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3752643/un-water-shortage-2030/"},"headline":"UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages Within 15 Years","datePublished":"2015-03-20T16:43:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:19:30.655Z","description":"If we continue on our current trajectory, warns the report, we'll only have 60% of the water we need in 2030","url":"https://time.com/3752643/un-water-shortage-2030/","keywords":["Environment","global warming","Water","United Nations"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26342a503b823e79/6987848f06f2c153ce334854/india-drinking-water.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26342a503b823e79/6987848f06f2c153ce334854/india-drinking-water.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INDIA-UN-ENVIRONMENT-WATER","caption":"INDIA-UN-ENVIRONMENT-WATER","creditText":"Manjunath Kiran—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3752643/un-water-shortage-2030/","name":"UN Report Warns of Serious Water Shortages Within 15 Years"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Is Climate Change Causing Extreme Weather?","description":"Is the frequency of extreme weather events a sign that global warming is gaining pace and exceeding predictions? 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