Knowledge Nugget: UN’s ‘Water Bankruptcy’ Report — what UPSC aspirants must know

Key takeaways:

1. Water is fundamental to human survival and development, sustaining not only life and health but also agriculture, industry and ecosystems. Yet despite its centrality, water is becoming increasingly scarce. The water crisis consequences cascade through economies and societies: crops fail, power grids falter, diseases spread, cities become unlivable, farmers lose jobs, communities are forced to move, conflicts arise, and peace and security are compromised.

2. The  Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) commits the world to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030. However, the world is very far away from achieving it. According to the Report, about 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation, and about 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month per year.

3. The Water Bankruptcy Report has declared that the world has entered into the era of “global water bankruptcy”  due to a structural imbalance between water demand and available resources. The report calls for effective action to protect water-related natural capital before damages become fully irreversible.

4. As per the report, nearly 75% of the world’s population lives in countries classified as water-insecure or critically water-insecure.

* Around 70% of the world’s major aquifers show long-term declining trends.

* Around 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are located in areas where total water storage is already declining or unstable.

* More than 170 million hectares of irrigated cropland are under high or very high water stress

5. According to the report, climate change has exacerbated the crisis. Rising temperatures disrupt rainfall patterns, and the water cycle and retreating glaciers make river flows erratic, creating “whiplashes” between floods and extremely dry weather.

New study on drought-prone Jalna, Maharashtra, calls for urgent localised interventions. (Express Photo)

6. Droughts, shortages, and pollution episodes that once looked like temporary shocks are becoming chronic in many places, signalling a crisis described as “water bankruptcy”. The report points out that not all basins and countries are equally affected. But it rightly underlines that “basins are interconnected through trade, migration, weather, and other key elements of nature. Water bankruptcy in one area will put more pressure on others and can increase local and international tensions.”

7. According to the report, “the consequences of water bankruptcy are now visible on every continent and cities are repeatedly brought to the brink of “Day Zero.” This term describes a situation when urban bodies are unable to provide piped drinking water to most residents. The report stresses that Day Zero must not be treated as a one-off crisis to be “survived”, but a symptom that urban systems are already operating beyond their hydrological carrying capacity.

8. The report highlights the need to shift from crisis management to bankruptcy management to address the current situation as we have already moved beyond the situation of “water crisis” and “water stress”. According to the report, “Crisis management is essentially restorative: it aims to survive a shock and get back to the previous normal, often through mitigation efforts, short-term emergency measures, and supply-side fixes.”

9. However, Bankruptcy management is different. “Managing water bankruptcy calls for a transformational fresh start in human–water relations. It demands a deliberate combination of efforts for mitigation plus adaptation to new hydrological and environmental normals.”

10. These findings become important as we approach the conclusion of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” in 2028 and UN Water Conferences in 2026 and 2028. It represents a pivotal opportunity to accelerate implementation, strengthen accountability, and elevate water as a global priority.

Case of India

1. India, which supports nearly 18 per cent of the world’s population with only 4 per cent of global freshwater resources, faces acute stress on its water systems. Between 1951 and 2024, there has been a decline of 73 per cent in per capita surface water availability in the country.

2. The NITI Aayog’s 2018 Composite Water Management Index warned that 600 million Indians experience high to extreme water stress, and by 2030, water demand could outstrip supply by twofold.

3. The World Resources Institute ranks India 13th among the 17 most water-stressed nations globally, with groundwater levels depleting at an alarming rate — over 60 per cent of irrigated agriculture and 85 per cent of drinking water depend on it.

4. The 2024 Annual Groundwater Quality Report revealed that 70 per cent of India’s water sources are contaminated, posing risks to health and livelihoods.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: World Water Day

1. To focus on the importance of freshwater, the United Nations marks March 22 every year as World Water Day. The theme of World Water Day 2026 is Water and Gender.

2. As per the UN website, the idea for this international day goes back to 1992, the year in which the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro took place. That same year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating March 22 of each year as the World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993.

3. Later on, other celebrations and events were added. For instance, the International Year of Cooperation in the Water Sphere 2013, and the current International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements:

1. The UNESCO releases the Water Bankruptcy Report.

2. March 22 is celebrated as World Water Day.

3. The theme of 2026 World Water Day is water and Gender.

Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

(Sources: India is grappling with a water crisis. It must act now, How effective management of wastewater helps address India’s water crisis, Explained: Why is World Water Day celebrated?, UN, Global Water Bankruptcy Report)

Previous Knowledge Nugget

No entry for Non-BS-VI vehicles in Delhi. Why understanding BS norms matters for UPSC Exam

Jallikattu festival begins in Tamil Nadu. Why understanding its cultural roots matters for UPSC exam

Biggest solar storm in two decades — key facts you must know for UPSC

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.

🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for January 2026. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨