About thirty percent of the population of the European Union has recently been affected by the scarcity of water. It is anticipated that this scenario will worsen, raising concerns about what this means for Europe and how best to deal with this issue. The luxury of easy access to clean water is currently enjoyed by many residents of Europe. But rising water needs and an expanding global population point to a coming disaster. To put the idea into perspective, two liters of water are sufficient to meet an individual’s daily drinking needs, but an astounding 3,000 liters are needed to create food. This is an increasingly difficult problem, particularly for irrigation in agriculture, which uses 70% of the freshwater used worldwide.

Professor of Environmental Politics at King’s College London Naho Mirumachi points out that because Europe imports a lot of food, it is vulnerable to global water management practices. 3.6 billion people globally are already impacted by water scarcity, with the Middle East and Africa suffering the most. Jippe Hoogeveen, a senior land and water official at the UN Food and Agricultural Agency, has cautioned that as temperatures rise, Europe could not be able to produce some products because of the hotter climate.

Among the European nations most severely impacted by this water issue is Spain. Three years of excessive heat and little precipitation led the nation’s national weather agency to proclaim a “long-term drought.” According to the Spanish Coordinator of Farmers and Ranchers Organizations, some agricultural products might even be lost. Furthermore, the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe are facing their own problems with water supplies, demonstrating that dry regions are not the only places where water scarcity occurs.

The energy industry is also affected by the lack of water supplies, making it a threat not just to agriculture. As a clean energy alternative, hydropower depends on sufficient water availability, and shortages could cause problems for this form of energy.

The world’s population is expected to increase to 8.5 billion people by 2030, which will put a heavy burden on water resources. Demand for things that use a lot of water, like electronics, increases as the middle class grows and consumes more diversely.

Ensuring a reliable supply of water for human needs while protecting the environment is necessary to mitigate the demand on water resources. Because decreased water availability can result in decreased biodiversity and ecological deterioration, this also includes protecting ecosystems and the health of rivers.

Since 2000, the European Union has responded to this urgent problem by enacting the Water Framework Directive, which has helped to preserve the quality of Europe’s waters. According to a survey published by WWF and the Living Rivers Europe Coalition, 90% of river basins across the European Union are predicted to remain unhealthy by 2027. While acknowledging that Europe’s reaction has been effective, European Environmental Agency project manager Nihat Zal calls for acceleration at all stages, from the municipal to the EU level, to improve readiness for the uncertainties and hazards connected with water scarcity.