Cities around the world, including the UK and its capital, could run out of water 'in 25 years' because of growing risks from drought driven by climate change, according to a report from Christian Aid. Severe droughts in London and the South East of England, in the “famously rainy UK”, could cost the capital’s economy £330 million a day, it says.
London already receives about half the amount of rain that falls in New York City, and climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of droughts in the region. With a growing population, this could put serious stress on the capital’s ageing water supply system, the report says.
Christian Aid also warned the toll of water shortages will be felt most by poor people in cities such as Harare, Zimbabwe and Kabul, Afghanistan. It is calling for an international fund to pay for loss and damage from climate impacts.
