Water covers 70% of our world, and it's safe to assume that it will still be abundant. Freshwater, on the other hand, is extremely scarce. We drink it, bathe in it, and use it to irrigate our farm fields. Just 3% of the world's water is fresh, and two-thirds of it is frozen glaciers or otherwise inaccessible for human consumption.

As a result, 1.1 billion people around the world lack access to water, while 2.7 billion face water scarcity for at least one month of the year. For 2.4 billion people, poor sanitation is a challenge, exposing them to diseases like cholera and typhoid fever, as well as other water-borne illnesses. Each year, two million people, mainly infants, die from diarrheal diseases.

Many of the water sources that keep ecosystems thriving and feed an ever-increasing human population are under strain. Rivers, wetlands, and aquifers are drying up or contaminated to the point of becoming unusable. About half of the world's wetlands have vanished. Agriculture uses the most water of any source, and most of it is wasted due to inefficiencies. Climate change is changing weather and water patterns all over the world, resulting in water shortages and droughts in some places and floods in others.

This condition would only worsen at the current pace of consumption. Water shortages could affect two-thirds of the global population by 2025. And habitats all over the planet will bear the brunt of the consequences.

Many of the world's natural waterways have been successfully harnessed by the human population, which has enabled civilizations to develop and flourish by building dams, water wells, extensive irrigation systems, and other structures. However, water systems are under - strain, with some rivers, lakes, and aquifers drying up.

Pesticides and fertilisers that wash away from farms, untreated human wastewater, and industrial waste are all sources of water pollution. Since many contaminants can leach into underground aquifers, even groundwater is not immune to contamination. Some consequences are immediate, such as when bacteria from human waste contaminate water, rendering it unsafe to drink or swim in. In other cases, such as radioactive chemicals released during industrial processes, it can take years for their effects to be fully realised in the atmosphere and food chain.