India Among 17 Countries Facing Severe Water Crisis

Indiais listed among the 17 countries facing extremely high water stress, close toDay Zero conditions when the taps run dry, according to a report that wasreleased on Tuesday.

Thereport stated that the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct Water Risk rankedwater stress, drought risk and riverine flood risk across 189 countries andtheir sub-national regions, like states and provinces.

Accordingto the report, India ranked 13 on Aqueduct's list of 'extremely high' waterstressed countries, has more than three times the population of the other 16countries in this category combined. The report also states that Northern Indiafaces severe groundwater depletion, visualized on Aqueduct's maps and includedin calculations of water stress for the first time.

FormerSecretary of Water Resources of Ministry of India, Shashi Shekhar said that therecent water crisis in Chennai gained global attention but many areas in thecountry are experiencing chronic water stress as well. He said that India canmanage its water risk with the help of reliable and robust data pertaining torainfall, surface and groundwater to develop strategies that strengthenresilience.

As perthe report, the 17 countries which are facing extremely high water stress,agriculture, industry and municipalities are drinking up 80 percent ofavailable surface and groundwater in an average year.

However,Aqueduct includes 13 indicators of water risk, including new additions such asgroundwater availability and water depletion and monthly snapshots of waterstress and variability.