Alistair Lyon in Reuters: The Arab world, one of the driest regions on the planet, will tip into severe water scarcity as early as 2015, a report issued on Thursday predicts. By then, Arabs will have to survive on less than 500 cubic meters of water a year each, or below a tenth of the world average of more than 6,000 cubic meters per capita, said the report by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED)."The Arab world is already living a water crisis that will only get worse with inaction," the report says, adding per capita supply has plunged to only a quarter of its 1960 level. Rapid population growth will further stress water resources. According to U.N. projections, the Arabs, who now number almost 360 million, will multiply to nearly 600 million by 2050.
Climate change will aggravate matters. By the end of this century, Arab countries may experience a 25 percent drop in precipitation and a 25 percent increase in evaporation rates, according to climate change models cited in the report.
"As a result, rain-fed agriculture will be threatened, with average yields estimated to decline by 20 percent," it says. Thirteen Arab countries are among the world's 19 most water-scarce nations. People in eight Arab countries already have to make do with less than 200 cubic meters a year each. "Without fundamental changes in policies and practices, the situation will get worse, with drastic social, political and economic ramifications," the AFED report says….
A desert road in Dubai at sunset, shot by , Wikimedia Commons, by CT Cooper (Christopher T Cooper). More free pictures by him can be found at User:CT Cooper/Gallery.
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