Water scarcity threat to
India and South Africa
Alex Kirby
More than a third of India’s electricity supply is at risk from water scarcity, which
also threatens urban life in parts of South Africa.
W oil, gas and nuclear fuel. Now researchers
from the US-based World Resources Institute,
after analysing all of India’s 400+ thermal
power plants, report that its power supply is
increasingly in jeopardy from water shortages.
More than 80% of India’s electricity comes
from thermal power stations, burning coal, The researchers found that 90% of
these thermal power plants are cooled
by freshwater, and nearly 40% of them
experience high water stress. The plants are
increasingly vulnerable, while India remains
committed to providing electricity to every
household by 2019.
ater scarcity is now a real threat
in two developing countries at the
forefront of efforts to reduce climate
change, India and South Africa.
This is not the tragically familiar story
of extreme weather, stunted crops and
foreshortened lives. It is a different sort
of threat: to urban life, to industrial
development, and to attempts to end poverty.
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By SkyPixels, via Wikimedia Commons
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