At the start of the first UN Water Conference since 1977, a global water crisis is imminent, according to a new UN report.
New research has found that the number of people living in cities without access to safe drinking water worldwide will double by 2050, with an 80 percent increase in demand for water predicted for urban areas by that time, The Guardian reported.
"Water is our common future and we need to act together to share it equitably and manage it sustainably. As the world convenes for the first major United Nations conference on water in the last half century, we have a responsibility to plot a collective course ensuring water and sanitation for all," said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on the UN World Water Development Report website.