--- title: World Water Day: United Nations Warns of Shortage 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 canonical: https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-21T14:57:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:37.275Z article:section: Science og:title: The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years og:description: A warning ahead of World Water Day og:url: https://time.com/3753332/world-water-day-un-warning/ og:site_name: TIME og: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 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: India World Water Day og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years twitter:description: A warning ahead of World Water Day twitter: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 ---  # The World's Water Supply Could Dip Sharply in 15 Years ## Video: Watch: A Timelapse of Climate Change [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: A Timelapse of Climate Change](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ywHiuC83.m3u8) (0:48)  _Published 2013-05-09. Climate Change_  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2015 2:57 PM UTC  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](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2015 2:57 PM UTC 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":"2026-08-04T07:59:37.275Z","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"}}] ```