The world has entered a ‘global water bankruptcy,’ but markets are mispricing water as drought costs rise to $307 billion annually, analysts warn

A man walks on a patch of land that is dried and cracked (Credit: Al Seib—Los Angeles Times)

The world is in deep water, but only metaphorically. Basins, aquifers, and other natural storage systems have been drained past recovery in our lifetimes, and one analyst warns markets aren’t taking the matter seriously enough.

The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) released a bombshell report earlier this year warning of “global water bankruptcy,” finding humans have overdrawn water from the natural environment.