UN report declares global state of 'water bankruptcy'Listen to this articleThe UN says new language is needed to describe the crisis state of the world's water basins and aquifers. "Water stress and water crisis are no longer sufficient descriptions of the world's new water realities," read a new report by the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The report proposes the alternative term "water bankruptcy" -- a state in which long-term water use exceeds resupply and damages nature so severely that previous levels cannot realistically be restored. It is based on a peer-reviewed report, soon to be published in the journal Water Resources Management, that will formally propose a definition of "water bankruptcy". The report "captures a hard truth: the world's water crisis has crossed a point of no return", Tim Wainwright, chief executive of the WaterAid charity, wrote in a statement.

Source: Bangkok Post January 21, 2026 14:26 UTC