Water crisis risk projected to increase by 30% by 2050

Global water consumption has reached 4 trillion cubic meters annually, becoming a crucial resource for both daily human needs and the development of industry and agriculture.

BAKU.WS reports with reference to "Report" that this was stated by Fidan Aliyeva, head of the wastewater systems research department at the Water and Melioration Scientific Research Institute, during panel discussions titled "Voices of Change: Sustainable Wastewater Management - On the Path to COP29 Goals" held within the framework of the 2nd International Water Management Exhibition and Conference - "Baku Water Week" in Baku.

According to her, with the rapid development of industry, the sector's demand for water has also increased, resulting in large amounts of wastewater: "First, I would like to note that water resources are an essential source for industrial activities. Its availability and quality directly affect the sustainability, productivity, and efficiency of industrial processes. Textile, paper industry, solar panel technologies, and food processing industries are particularly water-intensive consumers. Just one cotton shirt requires about 2,500-2,700 liters of water during production, while producing 1 kilogram of olives consumes more than 3,000 liters."

F. Aliyeva emphasized the importance of wastewater treatment, stating that discharging it into natural water bodies creates serious environmental hazards, especially in areas with high urbanization and industrialization: "An even more dangerous situation is the use of this water in agriculture, especially for irrigating vegetables and fruits directly consumed by humans. Because wastewater, while rich in organic matter and nutrients, also contains high concentrations of metal salts. This causes chronic and toxic problems for human health."

She added that the global water crisis already affects 2-3 billion people: "By 2050, this crisis risk is projected to increase by up to 30%. This level of water usage necessitates the development of new strategies for water resource management. Therefore, the application of sustainable technologies, development of economical methods that use less water in production processes, treatment and reuse of wastewater, and application of membrane technologies and biotechnological methods are coming to the forefront."