"The world entered the era of global water bankruptcy" (UN University's Institute for Water report)

"The world has entered the era of global water bankruptcy. In many regions, human-water systems are already in a post-crisis state of failure", according to the central message of the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health report, released on 20/01/2026.

According to Kaveh Madani, director of this institute also known as the UN's Think tank on Water", and lead author : "Many regions are living beyond their hydrological means, and many critical water systems are already bankrupt".

"At the same time, pollution, salinization, and other forms of water quality degradation have reduced the fraction of water that is safely usable", stressed the report.

Indeed, "about 2,2Bn people still lack safely managed drinking water, 3,5Bn lack safely managed sanitation, and about 4Bn people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month per year".

The consequences of water bankruptcy are "visible on every continent :
• rivers that no longer reach the sea ;
• lakes, wetlands, and glaciers that have shrunk or disappeared ;
• aquifers pumped down until land subsides and salt…