World Environment Day: The State of the Water Crisis in India

For World Environment Day, The Quint looks at India’s water future.

Parched lands of a dried lake. (Photo: Reuters)

For World Environment Day 2016 on June 5th, The Quint brings you a series of stories on the state of water in India. The past couple of years have been drier than usual. Weak monsoons had devastating consequences for farmers across the country. Follow our World Environment Day coverage for a look at our water situation.

It sounds like a cliché, but the consequences would be devastating if we didn’t have water. And with dwindling water resources across the country, it seems like we’re headed in that direction.

Already we’re in the middle of a two-year drought, and the outlook for the coming years doesn’t look good.

Water stress is a problem across the country. (Source: WRI)

To begin with, water demand is on the rise. According to the Central Water Commission, water demand in 2025 will be almost double the demand in 2000. It will keep growing in the 25 years after that.

(Source: Central Water Commission)

But water demand is rising at a time when water availability is going down. Groundwater is drying up as it gets used for thirsty crops. And without a strong monsoon, it’s unlikely these underground water reserves will be sufficiently replenished.

States soak up billions of cubic metres of ground water every year. (Source: Central Water Commission)

Agriculture consumes a lot of water, but there are other areas that are also water intensive. And while water use in agriculture is expected to go down, it could increase in industrial practices and electricity production.

(Source: Central Water Commission)

The consequences of water shortages are already devastating and it’s only going to get worse. Addressing the crisis will need to tackle the multiple sources of the problem: climate change, over-consumption, and lack of political will power.

This story is part of The Quint’s #WaterBucketChallenge campaign for World Environment Day 2016. Join us in trying to save water one bucket at a time using our hashtag and make sure you tag us too!