How much fresh water is left in the world? Distribution of water on Earth and its cycle

Date: 2016-04-07

Life on our planet originated from water, human body 75% consists of water, so the issue of fresh water reserves on the planet is very important. After all, water is the source and stimulant of our life.

Fresh water is considered to be water that contains no more than 0.1% salt.

Moreover, it does not matter what state it is in: liquid, solid or gaseous.

World fresh water reserves

97.2% of the water that is on planet earth belongs to salty oceans and seas. And only 2.8% is fresh water. On the planet it is distributed as follows:

• 2.15% of water reserves are frozen in the mountains, icebergs and ice sheets of Antarctica;
• 0.001% of water reserves are in the atmosphere;
• 0.65% of water reserves are in rivers and lakes.

  This is where people take it for their consumption.

In general, it is believed that fresh water sources are endless. Because the process of self-healing constantly occurs as a consequence of the water cycle in nature. Every year, as a result of the evaporation of moisture from the world's oceans, a huge supply of fresh water (about 525,000 km3) is formed in the form of clouds.

A small portion does end up back in the ocean, but most falls on the continents in the form of snow and rain and then ends up in lakes, rivers and groundwater.

Freshwater consumption in different parts of the planet

Even such a small percentage of available fresh water could meet all the needs of humanity if its reserves were evenly distributed throughout the planet, but this is not the case.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has identified several areas whose water consumption levels exceed the amount of renewable water resources:

• Arabian Peninsula.

  For public needs, five times more fresh water is used here than is available in available natural sources. Water is exported here using tankers and pipelines, and seawater desalination procedures are carried out.

• Water resources in Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are under stress.

  Almost 100% of renewable water resources are consumed here. More than 70% of renewable water resources are produced by Iran.

• Freshwater problems also exist in North Africa, especially in Libya and Egypt. These countries use almost 50% of water resources.

The greatest need is not in countries with frequent droughts, but in those with high population densities.

World freshwater market

You can see this using the table below. For example, the most large area Asia has water resources, and Australia has the smallest. But at the same time, every resident of Australia is provided with drinking water 14 times better than anyone in Asia.

This is because Asia has a population of 3.7 billion, while Australia has only 30 million.

Problems of fresh water use

Over the past 40 years, the amount of clean fresh water per person has decreased by 60%.

Agriculture is the largest consumer of fresh water. Today, this sector of the economy consumes almost 85% of the total volume of fresh water used by humans. Products grown using artificial irrigation are much more expensive than those grown on soil and irrigated by rain.

More than 80 countries around the world experience a shortage of fresh water.

And every day this problem is becoming more acute. Water scarcity even causes humanitarian and government conflicts. Improper use of groundwater leads to a decrease in its volume. Every year these reserves are depleted by 0.1% to 0.3%. Moreover, in poor countries, 95% of water cannot be used for drinking or food at all due to high level pollution.

The need for clean drinking water increases every year, but its quantity, on the contrary, is only decreasing.

Almost 2 billion people have limited water consumption. According to experts, by 2025, almost 50 countries of the world, where the number of inhabitants will exceed 3 billion people, will experience the problem of water shortage.

In China, despite high rainfall, half the population does not have regular access to sufficient drinking water.

Groundwater, like the soil itself, is renewed too slowly (about 1% per year).

The question remains relevant greenhouse effect. The climate condition of the Earth is constantly deteriorating due to the constant release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This causes an abnormal redistribution of atmospheric precipitation, the occurrence of droughts in countries where they should not occur, snowfall in Africa, high frosts in Italy or Spain.

Such abnormal changes can cause a decrease in crop yields, an increase in plant diseases, and an increase in the population of pests and various insects.

The planet's ecosystem is losing its stability and cannot adapt to such a rapid change in conditions.

Instead of results

In the end, we can say that there are enough water resources on planet Earth. The main problem with water supply is that these supplies are unevenly distributed on the planet. Moreover, 3/4 of fresh water reserves are in the form of glaciers, which are very difficult to access.

Because of this, some regions are already experiencing a shortage of fresh water.

The second problem is the contamination of existing accessible water sources with human waste products (salts of heavy metals, petroleum products). Clean water that can be consumed without preliminary purification can only be found in remote ecologically clean areas. But densely populated regions, on the contrary, suffer from the inability to drink water from their meager supplies.

Return to Water Resources

Countries around the world are provided with water resources extremely unevenly.

Most endowed with water resources following countries: Brazil (8,233 km3), Russia (4,508 km3), USA (3,051 km3), Canada (2,902 km3), Indonesia (2,838 km3), China (2,830 km3), Colombia (2,132 km3), Peru (1,913 km3), India (1,880 km3), Congo (1,283 km3), Venezuela (1,233 km3), Bangladesh (1,211 km3), Burma (1,046 km3).

The largest water resources per capita are found in French Guiana (609,091 m3), Iceland (539,638 m3), Guyana (315,858 m3), Suriname (236,893 m3), Congo (230,125 m3), Papua New Guinea (121 788 m3), Gabon (113,260 m3), Bhutan (113,157 m3), Canada (87,255 m3), Norway (80,134 m3), New Zealand (77,305 m3), Peru (66,338 m3), Bolivia (64,215 m3), Liberia (61,165 m3), Chile (54,868 m3), Paraguay (53,863 m3), Laos (53,747 m3), Colombia (47,365 m3), Venezuela (43,8463), Panama (43,502 m3) , Brazil (42,866 m3), Uruguay (41,505 m3), Nicaragua (34,710 m3), Fiji (33,827 m3), Central African Republic (33,280 m3), Russia (31,833 m3).

Kuwait has the least water resources per capita (6.85 m3), United United Arab Emirates(33.44 m3), Qatar (45.28 m3), Bahamas (59.17 m3), Oman (91.63 m3), Saudi Arabia(95.23 m3), Libya (3,366.19 ft).

On average, on Earth, each person receives 24,646 m3 (24,650,000 liters) of water per year.

Few countries in the world rich in water resources can boast of having river basins “at their disposal” that are not separated by territorial boundaries. Why is this so important? Let’s take, for example, the largest tributary of the Ob, the Irtysh (part of the flow of which they wanted to transfer to the Aral Sea). The source of the Irtysh is located on the border of Mongolia and China, then the river flows for more than 500 km through the territory of China, crosses the state border and about 1800 km flows through the territory of Kazakhstan, then the Irtysh flows about 2000 km through the territory of Russia until it flows into the Ob.

Which country owns 20% of all fresh water on earth?

Let's see how things are going with strategic “water independence” in the world.

The map presented to your attention above illustrates the percentage of the volume of renewable water resources entering the country from the territory of neighboring countries from the total volume of water resources of the country (A country with a value of 0% does not “receive” water resources from the territories of neighboring countries at all; 100% - all water resources come from outside the state).

The map shows that the following states are most dependent on “supplies” of water from neighboring countries: Kuwait (100%), Turkmenistan (97.1%), Egypt (96.9%), Mauritania (96.5%) , Hungary (94.2%), Moldova (91.4%), Bangladesh (91.3%), Niger (89.6%), Netherlands (87.9%).

Now let's try to do some calculations, but first let's rank countries by water resources:

5.

10.

Congo (1,283 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 29.9%)
11. Venezuela (1,233 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 41.4%)

Now, based on these data, we will compose our rating of countries whose water resources are least dependent on the potential reduction in transboundary flow caused by water withdrawal by upstream countries:

Brazil (5,417 km3)
2. Russia (4,314 km3)
3. Canada (2,850 km3)
4. Indonesia (2,838 km3)
5. China (2,813 km3)
6. USA (2,801 km3)
7. Colombia (2,113 km3)
8.

Peru (1,617 km3)
9. India (1,252 km3)
10. Burma (881 km3)
11. Congo (834 km3)
12. Venezuela (723 km3)
13.

Bangladesh (105 km3)

Below is a map of the world's fresh groundwater reserves. Blue areas on the map are areas rich in groundwater, brown areas are areas where there is a shortage of underground fresh water.

In arid countries, water is almost entirely taken from underground sources (Morocco - 75%, Tunisia - 95%, Saudi Arabia and Malta - 100%).

In Equatorial and South Africa Things are much better with groundwater. Heavy tropical rains contribute to the rapid restoration of groundwater reserves.

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Countries around the world are provided with water resources extremely unevenly. The following countries are most endowed with water resources: Brazil (8,233 km3), Russia (4,508 km3), USA (3,051 km3), Canada (2,902 km3), Indonesia (2,838 km3), China (2,830 km3), Colombia (2,132 km3), Peru (1,913 km3), India (1,880 km3), Congo (1,283 km3), Venezuela (1,233 km3), Bangladesh (1,211 km3), Burma (1,046 km3).

Volume of water resources per capita by country of the world (m3 per year per capita)

The largest water resources per capita are found in French Guiana (), Iceland (), Guyana (), Suriname (), Congo (), Papua New Guinea (), Gabon (), Bhutan (), Canada (), Norway ( ), New Zealand (), Peru (), Bolivia (), Liberia (), Chile (), Paraguay (), Laos (), Colombia (), Venezuela (43 8463), Panama (), Brazil (), Uruguay (), Nicaragua (), Fiji (), Central African Republic (), Russia ().

Note!!!
The fewest water resources per capita are found in Kuwait (), the United Arab Emirates (), Qatar (), the Bahamas (), Oman (), Saudi Arabia (), Libya ().

On average on Earth, each person consumes () water per year.

Share of transboundary flow in the total annual flow of rivers in the world (in%)
Few countries in the world rich in water resources can boast of having river basins “at their disposal” that are not separated by territorial boundaries.

Why is this so important? Let’s take, for example, the largest tributary of the Ob, the Irtysh (part of the flow of which they wanted to transfer to the Aral Sea).

The source of the Irtysh is located on the border of Mongolia and China, then the river flows for more time through the territory of China, crosses the state border and approximately flows through the territory of Kazakhstan, then the Irtysh flows approximately through the territory of Russia until it flows into the Ob.

According to international agreements, China can take half of the annual flow of the Irtysh for its needs, Kazakhstan half of what will remain after China. As a result, this can greatly affect the full flow of the Russian section of the Irtysh (including hydropower resources). Currently, China annually deprives Russia of 2 billion km3 of water. Therefore, the water supply of each country in the future may depend on whether the sources of rivers or sections of their channels are located outside the country.

Let's see how things stand with strategic "water independence" in the world.

Share of transboundary flow in the total annual flow of rivers in the countries of the world

The map presented to your attention above illustrates the percentage of the volume of renewable water resources entering the country from the territory of neighboring countries from the total volume of water reserves of the country (A country with a value of 0% does not “receive” water resources from the territories of neighboring countries at all; 100% - all water resources come from outside the state).

The map shows that the following states are most dependent on water “supplies” from neighboring countries: Kuwait (100%), Turkmenistan (97.1%), Egypt (96.9%), Mauritania (96.5%) , Hungary (94.2%), Moldova (91.4%), Bangladesh (91.3%), Niger (89.6%), Netherlands (87.9%).

In the post-Soviet space the situation is as follows: Turkmenistan (97.1%), Moldova (91.4%), Uzbekistan (77.4%), Azerbaijan (76.6%), Ukraine (62%), Latvia (52. 8%), Belarus (35.9%), Lithuania (37.5%), Kazakhstan (31.2%), Tajikistan (16.7%) Armenia (11.7%), Georgia (8.2%) , Russia (4.3%), Estonia (0.8%), Kyrgyzstan (0%).

Now let's try to do some calculations, but first let's make ranking of countries by water resources:

Brazil (8,233 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 34.2%)
2. Russia (4,508 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 4.3%)
3. USA (3,051 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 8.2%)
4. Canada (2,902 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 1.8%)
5.

Indonesia (2,838 km3) — (Share of transboundary flow: 0%)
6. China (2,830 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0.6%)
7. Colombia (2,132 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 0.9%)
8. Peru (1,913 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 15.5%)
9. India (1,880 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 33.4%)
10. Congo (1,283 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 29.9%)
11.

Venezuela (1,233 km3) — (Share of transboundary flow: 41.4%)
12. Bangladesh (1,211 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 91.3%)
13. Burma (1,046 km3) - (Share of transboundary flow: 15.8%)

Now, based on these data, we will compile our rating of countries whose water resources are least dependent on the potential reduction in transboundary flow caused by water withdrawal by upstream countries.

Brazil (5,417 km3)
2. Russia (4,314 km3)
3. Canada (2,850 km3)
4. Indonesia (2,838 km3)
5. China (2,813 km3)
6.

USA (2,801 km3)
7. Colombia (2,113 km3)
8. Peru (1,617 km3)
9. India (1,252 km3)
10. Burma (881 km3)
11. Congo (834 km3)
12. Venezuela (723 km3)
13. Bangladesh (105 km3)

In conclusion, I would like to note that the use river waters is not limited to water intake alone. We should not forget also about the transboundary transfer of pollutants, which can significantly deteriorate the quality of river water in sections of the river located in the territory of other countries downstream.
Significant changes in river flow volumes are caused by deforestation, agricultural activities, and global climate change.

Below is a map of the world's fresh groundwater reserves.

Blue areas on the map are areas rich in groundwater, brown areas are areas where there is a shortage of underground fresh water.

Countries with large reserves of groundwater include Russia, Brazil, as well as a number of equatorial African countries.

Note!!!
The lack of clean, fresh surface water is forcing many countries to increase their use of groundwater.

In the European Union, already 70% of all water used by water consumers is taken from underground aquifers.
In arid countries, water is almost entirely taken from underground sources (Morocco - 75%, Tunisia - 95%, Saudi Arabia and Malta - 100%)

Underground aquifers occur everywhere, but they are not renewable everywhere. So in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula they filled with water about 10,000 years ago, when the climate here was more humid.
In Equatorial and Southern Africa, things are much better with groundwater.

Heavy tropical rains contribute to the rapid restoration of groundwater reserves.

19. World water resources

The concept of water resources can be interpreted in two senses – broad and narrow.

In a broad sense, this is the entire volume of water in the hydrosphere contained in rivers, lakes, glaciers, seas and oceans, as well as in underground horizons and in the atmosphere.

The definitions huge, inexhaustible are quite applicable to it, and this is not surprising. After all, the World Ocean occupies 361 million km2 (about 71% of the total area of ​​the planet), and glaciers, lakes, reservoirs, swamps, and rivers account for another 20 million km2 (15%). As a result, the total volume of the hydrosphere is estimated at 1390 million km3. It is easy to calculate that with this total volume Each inhabitant of the Earth now accounts for approximately 210 million m3 of water. This amount would be enough to supply large city for a whole year!

However, it is necessary to take into account the possibilities of using these enormous resources.

Indeed, of the total volume of water contained in the hydrosphere, 96.4% falls on the share of the World Ocean, and from water bodies On land, the largest amount of water is contained by glaciers (1.86%) and groundwater (1.68%), the use of which is possible, but for the most part very difficult.

That is why, when we talk about water resources in the narrow sense of the word, we mean fresh water suitable for consumption, which constitutes only 2.5% of the total volume of all waters in the hydrosphere.

However, significant adjustments must be made to this indicator. It is impossible not to take into account the fact that almost all fresh water resources are “conserved” either in the glaciers of Antarctica, Greenland, mountainous regions, in the ice of the Arctic, or in groundwater and ice, the use of which is still very limited.

Lakes and reservoirs are used much more widely, but their geographical distribution is by no means ubiquitous. It follows that the main source of meeting humanity’s needs for fresh water has been and remains river (channel) water, the share of which is extremely small, and the total volume is only 2100 km3.

This amount of fresh water would not be enough for people to live by now.

However, due to the fact that the duration of the conditional moisture cycle for rivers is 16 days, during the year the volume of water in them is renewed on average 23 times and, therefore, the river flow resources can be purely arithmetically estimated at 48 thousand.

km3/year. However, the prevailing figure in the literature is 41 thousand km3/year. It characterizes the “water ration” of the planet, but reservations are also necessary here. It is impossible not to take into account that more than half of the channel waters flow into the sea, so that the resources of such waters actually available for use, according to some estimates, do not exceed 15 thousand.

If we consider how the total river flow is distributed between large regions of the world, it turns out that overseas Asia accounts for 11 thousand.

km3, to South America - 10.5, to North America - 7, to the CIS countries - 5.3, to Africa - 4.2, to Australia and Oceania - 1.6 and to foreign Europe - 1.4 thousand km3 . It is clear that behind these indicators are, first of all, the largest river systems in terms of flow: in Asia - the Yangtze, Ganges and Brahmaputra, in South America - the Amazon, Orinoco, Parana, in North America - the Mississippi, in the CIS - the Yenisei, Lena, in Africa - Congo, Zambezi.

This fully applies not only to regions, but also to individual countries (Table 23).

Table 23

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY SIZE OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES

Figures characterizing water resources cannot yet give a complete picture of water availability, since the provision of total flow is usually expressed in specific indicators - either per 1 km2 of territory or per inhabitant.

This water supply of the world and its regions is shown in Figure 19. Analysis of this figure suggests that with a global average of 8000 m3/year, Australia and Oceania, South America, the CIS and North America have indicators above this level, and below - Africa and foreign Europe and overseas Asia.

This situation with water supply in the regions is explained both by the overall size of their water resources and by the size of their population. No less interesting is the analysis of differences in water availability in individual countries (Table 24). Of the ten countries with the greatest water availability, seven are located within the equatorial, subequatorial and tropical zones, and only Canada, Norway and New Zealand are within the temperate and subarctic zones.

19. Availability of river flow resources in large regions of the world, thousand m3/year

Table 24

COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST AND LEAST AVAILABILITY OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES

Although, based on the above per capita indicators of water availability for the whole world, its individual regions and countries, it is quite possible to imagine it big picture However, it would be more correct to call such security potential.

To imagine the real water availability, you need to take into account the size of water intake and water consumption.

World water consumption in the twentieth century. grew as follows (in km3): 1900 – 580, 1940 – 820, 1950.

– 1100, 1960 – 1900, 1970 – 2520, 1980 – 3200, 1990 – 3580, 2005 – 6000.

TOP 20 countries by fresh water reserves!

These general indicators water consumption are very important: they indicate that throughout the 20th century. global water consumption increased 6.8 times.

Already, almost 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water. According to the UN forecast, universal access to such water can be achieved: in Asia - by 2025, in Africa - by 2050. The structure, i.e., the nature of water consumption, is no less important. Nowadays, 70% of fresh water is consumed by agriculture, 20% by industry, and 10% goes to meet domestic needs. This ratio is quite understandable and natural, but from the point of view of saving water resources, it is quite unprofitable, primarily because in agriculture (especially in irrigated agriculture) irrecoverable water consumption is very high.

According to available calculations, in 2000, irreversible water consumption in world agriculture amounted to 2.5 thousand km3, while in industry and public utilities, where recycled water supply is more widely used, only 65 and 12 km3, respectively. From all that has been said, it follows, firstly, that today humanity already uses quite a significant part of the planet’s “water ration” (about 1/10 of the total and more than 1/4 of the actually available) and, secondly, that irreversible water losses amount to more than 1/2 of its total consumption.

It is no coincidence that the highest rates of per capita water consumption are characteristic of countries with irrigated agriculture.

The record holder here is Turkmenistan (7000 m3 per person per year). It is followed by Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, etc. All these countries are already experiencing a significant shortage of water resources.

In Russia, the total river flow reaches 4.2 thousand km3/year, and, therefore, the resource availability of this flow per capita is 29 thousand.

m3/year; This is not a record, but quite a high figure. Total fresh water intake in the second half of the 1990s. Due to the economic crisis, there was a tendency to decrease slightly.

In 2000 it was 80–85 km3.

The structure of water consumption in Russia is as follows: 56% is used for production, 21% for household and drinking needs, 17% for irrigation and agricultural water supply, and 6% for other needs.

The same applies to individual economic regions countries. Thus, in the Central, Central Chernozem and Volga regions, water availability per capita is only 3000–4000 m3/year, and in Far East– 300 thousand m3.

The general trend for the whole world and its individual regions is a gradual decrease in water availability, so various ways to save water resources and new ways of water supply are being sought.

At the end of February, world oil prices showed a slight decline after five days of growth. However, prices remain near 10-month highs amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program. The dependence of the global financial system on the cost of energy resources. Also, due to the increase in population, there is a growing shortage of other resources that ensure the life of humanity: food and fresh water. The Analytical Information Service of the International Organization of Creditors (WOC) conducted a study to determine how long humanity will have enough natural resources and how their shortages affect the global economy.

In the 70s last century, humanity's needs began to exceed the planet's ability to renew resources. Now, according to ecologists, it takes the Earth 1.5 years to reproduce what humanity consumes in a year.

"IN last years about 25% and 20% of the planet's resources were used by the USA and China. Accordingly, the remaining countries accounted for a little more than half of the Earth’s available reserves, says WOC President Robert Abdullin. “Maintaining the life of the average American, for example, requires 3.5 times more resources than the average person on Earth, and 9 times more than the average person in India or almost any African country.”

In the context of significant population growth, both in the world as a whole and in individual countries, issues of availability of resources such as energy, water and food become relevant.

Energy resources

According to OPEC, developing countries control 2/3 of the world's oil reserves, the resource most needed by humanity, which is rapidly depleting. The largest share of the world's oil reserves is found in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Russia is in 8th place for this indicator. When recalculating reserves per capita, Kuwait becomes the leader, followed by the UAE and Qatar. At the current volumes of proven reserves and production volumes, humanity will have enough oil for no more than 50 years. In Russia, oil, at current production volumes, may run out in 21 years.

In terms of natural gas reserves, it ranks first in the world. Russian Federation(47.5 trillion m3), followed by a significant margin by Iran and Qatar (29.6 trillion m3 and 25.4 trillion m3, respectively). With the current volumes of proven reserves and production volumes, this type of fuel will last humanity for just over 60 years. In Russia, natural gas reserves, all other things being equal, will last almost 80 years.

Food

Population growth and, accordingly, an increase in demand for food resources provoke an increase in prices.

In terms of the availability of agricultural land and forest areas per capita, Russia is the undisputed leader among the countries considered, followed by Brazil and the United States. China and India are outsiders due to their high population density. In absolute terms, China's agricultural area is more than double that of Russia. As for the volume of grain produced, in per capita terms the United States is the leader, followed by Russia. The US leadership is explained by very high productivity in agriculture: grain yields in America are three times higher than, for example, in Russia.

Water

The leader in the availability of total renewable water resources among the countries considered is Brazil (8,233 billion m3 per year), followed by Russia (4,505 billion m3 per year). In India, this figure is 1,911 billion m3 per year, in Egypt this figure is much lower - 57 billion m3 per year. Brazil also ranks first in terms of the availability of total renewable water resources per capita (42,604 m3 per person per year), followed by the Russian Federation (31,511 m3 per person per year). For the USA, the figure is three times lower than for Russia. The low value of this indicator in China and India is explained by the high population density, and in Egypt by the limited water resources of the region.

The growing shortage of energy, food and fresh water is a serious challenge for humanity. We must take into account that the world's population is growing: by 2025, according to UN forecasts, there will already be 8 billion of us. At the same time, there will be enough oil for the next 50 years, and natural gas for 60. The influence of states with sufficient reserves of natural resources on the world economy intensifies. This means that we are on the verge of a global turning point and a redistribution of vectors of influence on the planet.

Planet Earth is very rich in natural resources: oil, coal, natural gas, valuable metals. And people have been using these gifts for thousands of years.

Some of them are valued very highly, they are treasured, treated with care and judiciousness, while sometimes they don’t even think about the value of others, and only begin to appreciate them after losing them.

Is water more valuable than gold?

The answer is simple - water, or rather, fresh, clean water. Everyone knows examples of the disappearance of small rivers, lakes, and pollution of water bodies, but for some reason this does not cause concern. Most people simply don't think about the value of water and consider it a renewable resource. The naivety of these misconceptions can have irreparable consequences. Already, 1/3 of the entire population is experiencing a shortage of fresh water, and every hour the problem is only becoming more global.

Amount of water in the world

Many people wonder why this problem occurs, because there is so much water. Indeed, 4/5 of the surface of the entire planet consists of water (this is one of the most common compounds; the volume of the world's oceans is approximately 1.3300 billion cubic meters of water). The presence of this fact allows people to believe that fresh water supplies are inexhaustible. But, unfortunately, this is not the case. 97% of water is in the seas and oceans (sea water is unsuitable for consumption) and only 3% is fresh water. But it is worth noting that only 1% of the total volume is available to humanity for use.

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Where does the water go?

The bulk of fresh water (more than 65%) is concentrated in the glaciers of Antarctica. But did you know that due to global warming, this supply is rapidly decreasing? Which, of course, poses a great danger to all living things.

It's hard to imagine how much water is used every day. On average, a person uses about 200 liters. Multiplying this number by the total number of people inhabiting the Earth, we get more than 1400,000,000 tons - this is only household expenses, and if we take into account industry, the figure will rapidly increase. People began to forget that it is necessary to preserve not only rare species of animals and plants, but it is also very important to preserve water, without which life is impossible.

What to expect?

The forecasts are not encouraging, water reserves are not at all unlimited, and they are already being exhausted. Research shows that in the next 10 years, most of the world's countries will experience water shortages, and in another 20 years, 75% of the total population will be left without fresh water. The shortage will undoubtedly increase unless action is taken now. The main problem is pollution of fresh water by industrial emissions, fertilizers from fields, penetration of salt water into coastal areas, as well as irrational use, which, in turn, leads to the fact that groundwater does not have time to renew itself and its level gradually drops.

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The importance of water for humans

A person needs water every day throughout his life. It is needed for drinking and cooking, for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. You can live without water for no more than 5 days, otherwise, as a result of dehydration in the body, all organs and systems malfunction. That is why everyone needs to consume at least 1.5 liters clean water. Declining water supplies are a direct threat to people. To avoid it, you need to act now.

Ways to save water

You are mistaken in thinking that nothing depends on you. Start saving water. There are simple and very effective ways. Here are a few of them:

• When washing, use the economy mode, and do not turn on the washing machine with an incomplete load.
• When you wash your hands, a lot of water is wasted while lathering them, it just flows unnecessarily. You can simply turn off the tap before soaping, which may be inconvenient. But now there are taps with levers, as well as taps with motion sensors that turn off the water as soon as you remove your hands
• Monitor the condition of pipes, taps, and tank. You may not think this is that important, but even a small leak uses about 300 liters. per month!
• When watering plants, use drip irrigation
• Replace taking a bath with a shower, and when taking a shower, reduce the pressure
• When brushing your teeth, be careful not to spill water in vain.
• Use the toilet for its intended purpose, do not throw small garbage there
• To wash dishes, it is more economical to use a dishwasher, provided that it is fully loaded.

No one has any doubts that the climate on our planet has begun to change. Scientists have several opinions on this: global warming and global cooling. These opinions are opposite, but scientists agree on one issue - soon many states will experience water shortages. And, as we all know, life on the planet depends on this resource. Scientists have calculated and stated that by 2025, 2/3 of the population of our planet will experience a lack of water.

The most alarming thing is that water pollution in Russia is happening much faster than in developed countries. To satisfy our needs, we need only 2 percent of the flow of Russian rivers. This volume passes through industrial enterprises, public utilities, and then the polluted water ends up in natural water bodies. Thus, in our country, 2 percent of the water pollutes 98 percent. Many places do not treat their drains properly, and some places do not treat their drains at all.

Another factor in wastewater pollution is the runoff of chemical fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural areas. For 15 years in Russia, the use of pesticides in fields has been decreasing, which has a beneficial effect on rivers. In some, even most, you can find minnows living only in clean water.

We can observe manifestations of global climate change in the last twenty years. Average temperatures are rising across the planet. But warming on Earth could be observed 100 and 200 thousand years ago. Therefore, scientists cannot definitively answer that it is the impact of humanity that is influencing climate warming. But as for the impact on the state of the atmosphere and environment(and water) - has already been proven.

Currently in Russia, winter is becoming warmer every year, which leads to an increase in winter river flow. So far, no negative consequences for rivers from climate warming in Russia have been observed. In winter, there is more water, and they do not freeze to the bottom. The operation of city water intakes has become more reliable.

As is known, in Russia water reserves unevenly distributed over the territory. There is only 99 percent enough water. There are no problems with water in Siberia, but in areas such as Astrakhan, Saratov and Volgograd there is a water shortage. It seems that there shouldn’t be any problems - the Volga is nearby, but the problem here is the irrigation systems, which are dilapidated by now (the canals are overgrown, the pumps are malfunctioning).

Also, there is a problem with water in the North Caucasus and the Orenburg Territory. Everywhere the problem is the same - outdated equipment that is not able to meet the needs of the population, as well as economic facilities, large hydraulic structures on the Volga, Yenisei, Kama, and Angara.

There are about 100 reservoirs in our country, and their total volume is more than 100 million cubic meters of water. Moscow, for example, needs about 5 million cubic meters of water per day. Another alarming problem is abandoned ponds in rural areas. These ponds are not cleaned, their pipes are not checked, and hydraulic equipment and dams are not maintained. And ponds are storage facilities for fresh water, just like larger bodies of water.

Natural resource conservationists agree that we need to improve water quality in our cities. But this is impossible without wastewater treatment and water treatment. But there is still some progress on this issue. A striking example on cleaning Wastewater is Moscow. Here they began to operate water purification stations using modern technologies and the latest equipment.

But at the same time, in Moscow there is another problem - chemical reagents are used to speed up the melting of snow. Some of the substances go to treatment plants through storm drains, and the other part goes directly into the Moscow River. Gas exhausts that are full of heavy metals and petroleum products, deposited on the soil, snow, and asphalt, also enter the river.

Many settlements in the Moscow region draw water from underground sources. Groundwater extraction has always been regulated in Russia. Recently, to install a new well to supply drinking water locality or a cottage community, it was necessary to obtain special permission. Now this law does not have this provision. And the number of wells for water supply began to increase gardening partnerships and cottage villages. Intensive pumping of water from drilled wells began, causing the aquifers to become depleted and polluted.

They also left their mark on the pollution of sources. large quantities residential buildings located on the banks of rivers and lakes. One person who lives in country house constantly, uses as much water as in the city, and sometimes this figure is higher. After all, as a rule, the plots have baths and swimming pools, watered lawns and extensive flower beds. And greenhouses are generally an irreplaceable attribute. But no one thinks of creating good treatment facilities, or people simply do not have enough funds for this.

Facilities that can carry out high-quality treatment of domestic wastewater must carry out biological and mechanical view cleaning. And everyone is already tired of talking about the inadmissibility of cottages with sewerage that goes directly into the river.

On this moment One can notice the government's concern regarding the state of clean water resources in the country. Today, the main measure to preserve natural heritage can be called the adoption of the Federal program under the motto “Clean Water”, according to which modern treatment facilities will be built throughout the country. By 2020, it is planned to allocate 150-200 billion rubles for the program.

According to the United Nations, rising freshwater consumption, driven by population growth and migration, as well as the effects of climate change, is leading to growing water scarcity.

Every three years, the UN World Water Assessment Program (WWAP) publishes the UN World Report, representing the most full assessment state of freshwater resources in the world.

The latest report was released at the Fifth World Water Forum, held in Istanbul in 2009. This is the result collaboration 26 different UN entities united within the framework of the UN Decade “Water for Life” (2005 – 2015).

The report highlights that many countries have already reached their water use limits, with freshwater consumption tripling over the past half century. Large areas of the developing world continue to experience unequal access to safe drinking water, water treatment for industrial food products and wastewater treatment. If nothing is done, then by 2030 almost five billion people, about 67% of the planet's population, will be left without clean water.

In sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 340 million people lack access to safe drinking water. In the settlements where half a billion Africans live, there are no normal treatment facilities. Almost 80% of diseases in developing countries are caused by drinking poor quality water. They claim the lives of three million people a year. Every day, five thousand children die from “diseases of unwashed hands”—one child every 17 seconds! 10% of the world's diseases can be avoided through improved water supply, water treatment, hygiene and effective water management.

Now the world's population is 6.6 billion people, the annual increase is 80 million. Every year we need 64 million cubic meters more water. By 2050, almost ten billion people will live on Earth, with population growth occurring mainly in developing countries where water is already scarce.

In 2030, half of the world's population will live under the threat of water scarcity. In Africa alone, by 2020, due to climate change, between 75 and 250 million people will be in this situation. Water shortages in desert and semi-desert regions will cause intense population migration. According to experts, from 24 to 700 million people will be forced to change their place of residence. In 2000, the world's water shortage was estimated at 230 billion cubic meters per year. And by 2025, we will lack water ten times more: up to two trillion cubic meters per year.

According to the UN, by 2025 Russia, together with Scandinavia, South America and Canada will remain the regions most endowed with fresh water. In these countries, each person accounts for more than 20 thousand cubic meters per year. The region is the most secure in terms of water resources Latin America, which accounts for a third of the world's runoff, followed by Asia with its quarter of the world's runoff. Then come the developed ones European countries(20%), sub-Saharan Africa and former Soviet Union, they account for 10%. The countries with the most limited water resources are the Middle East and North America(by 1%).

And according to the World Resources Institute, 13 states have the least amount of water per capita, including 4 republics of the former USSR:

Egypt – 30 cubic meters per year per person

Israel – 150 cubic meters per year per person

Turkmenistan – 206 cubic meters per year per person

Moldova – 236 cubic meters per year per person

Pakistan – 350 cubic meters per year per person

Algeria – 440 cubic meters per year per person

Hungary – 594 cubic meters per year per person

Uzbekistan – 625 cubic meters per year per person

Netherlands – 676 cubic meters per year per person

Bangladesh – 761 cubic meters per year per person

Morocco – 963 cubic meters per year per person

Azerbaijan – 972 cubic meters per year per person

South Africa – 982 cubic meters per year per person

The total volume of water on Earth is approximately one and a half billion cubic kilometers, of which only 2.5% is fresh water. Most of its reserves are concentrated in multi-year ice Antarctica and Greenland, as well as deep underground.

Almost all the water we drink comes from lakes, rivers and shallow underground springs. Only about 200 thousand cubic kilometers of these reserves can be used - less than a percent of all fresh water reserves or 0.01% of all water on Earth. A significant proportion of them are located far from densely populated regions.

Renewal of fresh water depends on evaporation from the surface of the oceans. Every year, the oceans evaporate about half a million cubic kilometers of water. This is a layer one and a half meters thick. Another 72 thousand cubic kilometers of water evaporates from the land surface. 79% of precipitation falls over seas and oceans, another 2% over lakes, and only 19% of rain falls on land. A little more than two thousand cubic kilometers of water penetrates into underground springs per year. About two-thirds of all precipitation returns to the atmosphere.