According to International Water Management Institute (IWMI), India will face a water scarcity due to global warming and population explosion. This in turn will lead to chronic dependency on costly and unpredictable food imports.
India will have only half the water it needs by 2030, one of the top international water organisations has predicted.
According to International Water Management Institute (IWMI), India will face a water scarcity due to global warming and population explosion. This in turn will lead to chronic dependency on costly and unpredictable food imports.
“India is becoming a water-stressed country like the Middle East if current trends continue,” said Colin Chartres, director general of IWMI.
According to estimates, India has a total water demand of around 700 billion cubic metres, nearly 85% of which is used for producing food.
IWMI projections show that India’s water demand is set to double by 2030 as its population is expected to go from 1.2 billion to around 1.6-1.7 billion.
India will need 1,498 billion cubic metres (bcm) by 2030. Disturbingly, the total water supply will only rise to 744 bcm, or barely half the total requirement.
“Since most of the water is used for producing food, scarcity of water means scarcity of food. Instead of importing water, India will be importing food,” Chartres pointed out. “Importing food too won’t be easy, as on a global level, we’ll have to feed 2.5 billion more people with less water and higher temperature than we have now,” he added.
To meet the extra demand, India will not be able to drill down either. Thanks to green revolution, Indian farmers have already exploited its ground water, particularly in the Northern plains.
India’s food problem will be further exaggerated by the increase in temperature by 1 to 2 degrees.
The only way out, Chartres suggests, is to store more water. India will have to invest in rainwater harvesting, and construction of dams and tanks.
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