A recent study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that climate change could significantly increase the time women spend collecting water by up to 30% globally by 2050. In South American and Southeast Asian regions specifically, the study predicts that the time spent collecting water could double due to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall.
The research, conducted by a team of scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on women, who often bear the responsibility of water collection in households without access to running water. Currently, an estimated two billion people lack access to safe drinking water worldwide.
Lead study author Robert Carr, a guest researcher at PIK, explains, “Climate change leads to rising temperatures and alters rainfall patterns, affecting the availability of water. We show that for women in households without running water, the time spent for collecting water will increase in almost all regions analyzed under future climate change.”
The study projects that women in households without running water currently spend an average of 22.84 minutes per day collecting water, varying across regions from four minutes in parts of Indonesia to 110 minutes in regions of Ethiopia. Under a high-emission scenario, this time could increase by up to 30% globally by 2050, although mitigation efforts could reduce this increase to 19% if global warming stays below 2 degrees Celsius.
Maximilian Kotz, another author from PIK, notes, “Regionally by 2050, daily water collection times could double under a high-emission scenario, particularly in regions across South America and Southeast Asia.” This increase in water collection time not only impacts women’s well-being but also leads to significant economic costs due to lost working time, estimated to be in the tens to hundreds of millions of US dollars per country per year.
The study underscores the urgent need for climate action to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, especially women who are disproportionately affected by water scarcity and related challenges.