World Water Week
Water is essential for life. Duh.
Let’s get to know more about water during this World Water Week (27 August – 1 September).
10 Fun Facts about Water (which you probably didn’t know) (1, 2):
There is the same amount of water on Earth as there was when the Earth was formed. The water from your faucet could be the one that dinosaurs drank!
Somewhere between 70 and 75% of the earth’s surface is covered with water.
Nearly 97% of the world’s water is salty or otherwise undrinkable. Another 2% is locked in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves just 1% for all of humanity’s needs — all its agricultural, residential, manufacturing, community, and personal needs.
Roughly 70% of an adult’s body is made up of water.
75% of the human brain is water and 75% of a living tree is water.
Water regulates the Earth’s temperature. It also regulates the temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, cushions joints, protects organs and tissues, and removes wastes.
A healthy person can drink about 48 cups of water per day.
A person can live about a month without food, but only about a week without water.
By the time a person feels thirsty, his or her body has lost over 1% of its total water amount.
Water expands by 9% when it freezes. Frozen water (ice) is lighter than water, which is why ice floats in water.
Now, let’s get serious about water (or the lack of clean water). Because about 30% of the world’s people lack access to clean water, resulting in 842,000 deaths each year.
8 Serious Facts about Water (3):
In 2015, 71% of the global population (5.2 billion people) used a safely managed drinking-water service – that is, one located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination.
89% of the global population (6.5 billion people) used at least a basic service. A basic service is an improved drinking-water source within a round trip of 30 minutes to collect water.
884 million people lack even a basic drinking-water service
159 million people are still dependent on surface water.
Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces.
By 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas.
In low- and middle-income countries, 38% of health care facilities lack an improved water source, 19% do not have improved sanitation, and 35% lack water and soap for handwashing.
In 2015, 2.1 billion people are without safely managed drinking-water services, which include:
1.3 billion people with basic services, meaning an improved water source located within a round trip of 30 minutes
263 million people with limited services, or an improved water source requiring more than 30 minutes to collect water
423 million people taking water from unprotected wells and springs
159 million people collecting untreated surface water from lakes, ponds, rivers and streams.
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