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Paige Fusco

Graphic Truth: When it comes to freshwater, Canada is king

Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, but good ol’ H2O is a much more precious resource than it appears.

Less than 0.8% of Earth’s water is freshwater in lakes, rivers, or underground aquifers. And much of that already tiny fraction has been rendered unusable by pollution or is lost to poor management and inefficient agricultural practices. What’s worse, climate change and overexploitation of existing water resources mean that communities from California to Cambodia are struggling to provide safe water at an affordable price.

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Ian Explains: The problem of our diminishing water supply
Ian explains: The problem of our diminishing water supply | GZERO World

Ian Explains: The problem of our diminishing water supply

Water is a vital resource the world can't live without, yet it's something we often overlook. Did you know that there is only one ocean on Earth? It's true. It might have a different name depending on where you are in the world––Atlantic, Pacific, Indian––but they're all connected. And they cover a staggering 71% of our planet's surface, representing 96% of all water on earth.

Freshwater, the kind we need to survive, is becoming scarcer every day, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World. Climate change and increasing demand for water are putting pressure on one of the world's most precious resources. As a result, droughts and severe water scarcity are becoming more common.

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The Graphic Truth: Has clean water access improved?

In many low- and middle-income countries, availability of safe, drinkable water remains scarce. Though access has improved significantly in many places over the past two decades – by 152% in Afghanistan, for instance – the very low baseline means that still only 28% of that population has access to high quality drinking water. Meanwhile, countries like the Central African Republic, Zambia, Nepal, and Pakistan saw their access reduced over the past two decades. Here’s a snapshot of the relative change in access to safe drinking water around the world from 2000-2020.

A woman drinks water in El Crucero town, Nicaragua.

REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

Hard Numbers: Water woes, COVID fatigue in Hong Kong, Ukrainians come and go, Beckham’s Instagram followers visit Kharkiv, Russian death toll

2.2 billion: Three decades since the UN declared March 22 World Water Day to raise awareness about conservation efforts and the need for access to clean water, 2.2 billion people — almost a third of the global population — lack access to safe drinking water.

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Trash tracking satellites help Indonesia tackle marine waste

December 04, 2020 2:06 PM

JAKARTA (AFP) - Every year, pounding rains wash away mountains of plastic waste from the streets of Jakarta, with some of it ending up as far away as Bali's beaches. So scientists are turning to satellites to trace the rubbish and figure out how to tackle the problem.

Four arrested over latest water pollution case in Selangor

November 12, 2020 5:00 AM

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysian police have arrested four suspects following the latest water pollution that shut down four water treatment plants in Selangor and leaving more than one million people in the Klang Valley with dry taps.

4 arrested over latest water pollution incident in Selangor that caused disruption to more than 1m households

November 11, 2020 12:59 PM

The latest water cuts came less than three weeks after the last supply disruption.

Water cuts in Selangor to over 1m accounts as plants shut down due to contamination again

October 19, 2020 9:55 AM

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Yet another suspected contamination in Sungai Selangor has forced water supplier Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) to issue a stop-work order on its Phase 1,2,3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants causing unscheduled water cuts to 1,196,457 accounts in the state.

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