External publications

Water in a heated world

in: ACS ES&T Water, first published 14.02.2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.5c00088
Open access

The impacts of climate change, population growth, and overexploitation of water resources are becoming increasingly evident worldwide in the loss of ecosystem services, changes to precipitation patterns, prolonged droughts with record heat waves, glacier mass loss, degraded water quality with increasing water-related health risks, declining groundwater recharge rates, and altered runoff regimes in surface waters. (1) The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) in its new flagship report entitled “Water in a heated world” comes to the conclusion that the frequency, magnitude, and duration of extreme events are increasing with impacts more frequently beyond the spectrum of human experience, escalating into “regional water emergencies”. (2) These threats are by no means limited to certain water-stressed regions but can be observed more widely representing a pattern with a planetary dimension, resulting in increasing loss of life and limb, increasing long-term adverse effects on human health (e.g., heat stress and psychological impairment), affecting large ecosystems and their biodiversity, and resulting in major economic losses. For these new and drastically accelerated changes, the WBGU speaks of these changes as threatening situations in which the limits of controllability are exceeded, social structures and ecosystems are substantially destabilized, and the scope for action no longer exists.

About the IDOS authors

Hornidge, Anna-Katharina

Development and Knowledge Sociology

Molitor, Katharina

Geography

Löpelt, Sarah

International relations and Sustainability policy

Further IDOS experts

Aleksandrova, Mariya

Climate risk governance 

Brandi, Clara

Economy and Political Science 

Büscher, Chris

Development studies / Political ecology 

Dippel, Beatrice

Comparatist 

Dombrowsky, Ines

Economist 

Donnelly, Aiveen

Politcal Science 

Ekoh, Susan S.

Environmental Research 

Fuhrmann-Riebel, Hanna

Economy 

Goedeking, Nicholas

Comparative Political Economy 

Hagenström, Paul

International Relations 

Herrfahrdt-Pähle, Elke

Economist 

Kativu, Saymore Ngonidzashe

Geography 

Lehmann, Ina

Political Science 

Malerba, Daniele

Economy 

Mathis, Okka Lou

Political Scientist 

Never, Babette

Political Scientist 

Pegels, Anna

Economist 

Rodríguez de Francisco, Jean Carlo

Ecological economics 

Schüpf, Dennis

Economics 

Srigiri, Srinivasa Reddy

Agricultural Economist 

Subramanian, Saravanan

Geography