--- description: Water resources may soon meet only 60% of the world's water demands, the U.N. warned in a report for World Water Day title: The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf660f7338531b48/6987849d55a8591709a86674/world-water-day1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Environment](/tag/environment/) ## Environment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2015 2:57 PM CUT  A young girl fetches water from a hand pump in an impoverished settlement in New Delhi, March 21, 2015. A young girl fetches water from a hand pump in an impoverished settlement in New Delhi, March 21, 2015.Altaf Qadri—AP  by [Alice Park](/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2015 2:57 PM CUT Global water resources may soon meet only 60% of the world’s water demands, the United Nations warned in a dire new report. The World Water Development Report, issued ahead of World Water Day on Sunday, says demand for water around the world will increase by 55% over the next 15 years. With current supplies, that means only 60% of the world’s water needs will be met in 2030. The reason for the shortfall include climate change, which causes irregular rainfall and dwindling underwater reserves. The results of the shortage could be devastating to agriculture, ecosystems and economies. With less water, health could also be compromised. New policies that focus on water conservation, and more optimal treatment of wastewater, could alleviate some of the shortfall. “Unless the balance between demand and finite supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly severe global water deficit,” the report says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/"},"headline":"The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years","datePublished":"2015-03-21T14:57:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:20:14.225Z","description":"A warning ahead of World Water Day","url":"https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf660f7338531b48/6987849d55a8591709a86674/world-water-day1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaf660f7338531b48/6987849d55a8591709a86674/world-water-day1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"India World Water Day","caption":"India World Water Day","creditText":"Altaf Qadri—AP","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/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/","name":"The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: A Timelapse of Climate Change","description":"Climate Change","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ywHiuC83/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-05-09T17:46:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ywHiuC83.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/","duration":"PT48S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```