India’s Water Challenge

India represents 17% of the world’s population but has access to only 4% of global freshwater resources. The spatial distribution of water is highly uneven—eastern and northern regions have relatively greater water availability compared to the drier southern and western zones. Climate change further compounds this imbalance, triggering more frequent and intense droughts and floods, disrupting established weather patterns, and threatening long-term water sustainability. These challenges have profound environmental, social, and developmental implications, highlighting the inextricable link between climate change and water security.

India is already grappling with a severe water crisis. The core of this crisis lies in the widening gap between demand and supply, exacerbated by inefficient water resource management. In the last 75 years, annual per capita water availability has dropped dramatically—from 6,042 cubic meters in 1947 to 1,486 cubic meters in 2021. A country is considered water-stressed when per capita availability falls below 1,700 cubic meters, and water-scarce when it dips below 1,000 cubic meters. India is rapidly approaching this critical threshold.

Inefficiencies in agriculture—the largest consumer of freshwater—combined with untreated sewage, industrial pollution, and limited access to sanitation, are degrading the quality and quantity of usable water. Groundwater depletion adds another layer of concern. Over-extraction lowers water tables, increasing pumping costs and reducing crop yields, thereby directly affecting rural livelihoods and food security. In some areas, salinity ingress further deteriorates groundwater quality, rendering it unfit for irrigation or consumption.