UN Habitat: Why the world’s water crisis is increasingly an urban challenge.
As the international community prepares for the 2026 UN Water Conference and the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), a growing body of evidence shows that the global water crisis is increasingly concentrated in cities.
Recent reporting by The Guardian, drawing on multiple data sources, highlights the scale of water stress affecting major urban centres worldwide, with extreme stress observed in cities such as Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, and Delhi. According to The Guardian, half of the world’s 100 largest cities are already experiencing high levels of water stress, with water withdrawals for public supply and industry approaching or exceeding available resources in many cases.
