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Water scarcity

  • Friday, 3 January, 2025
    EU’s energy fixation has left water crisis unchecked, top official warns

    Environment commissioner Jessika Roswall says bloc must urgently address water shortages affecting business

    Jessika Roswall
  • Thursday, 2 January, 2025
    FT MagazineSimon Kuper
    Why goats are replacing cows in southern Africa

    A drought-hit province provides glimpses of the planet’s next phase 

    An hourglass against a blue background, with the top half containing a miniature savannah scene featuring elephants and trees, while sand flows into the bottom half
  • Monday, 30 December, 2024
    News in-depthSouth African economy
    Johannesburg bears brunt of South Africa’s water crisis

    Cost of supply cuts threatens to dwarf economic damage caused by country’s years of power blackouts

    Filling bottles from water storage tanks
  • Friday, 6 December, 2024
    Europe Express
    Why climate change will cause more people to flee to Europe Premium content

    Also in this newsletter: Is France Eurosceptic?

    Residents walk on cracked ground next to the village of San Roman de Sau, at Sau reservoir in Spain
  • Monday, 25 November, 2024
    Special ReportPlastics and Chemicals
    Regulators tighten rules on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

    As concerns mount about pollutants such as PFAS, the market for remediation is poised for rapid growth

    A hand in protective gear dipping a clear container into a shallow stream, capturing water for scientific analysis or environmental monitoring
  • Monday, 14 October, 2024
    Almost two-thirds of EU water in bad condition, report shows

    Pressure rises on agriculture and industry to reduce pollution and cut its share of use from 59%

    A water supply gate on an irrigation canal, alongside rice paddy fields on a farm in Spain
  • Monday, 7 October, 2024
    Utilities
    Water demand will soar because of wars and tech, says utility boss

    Cox chief expects needs to rise at 10-15% rate a year as company seeks to raise €300mn on Madrid Stock Exchange

    Water desalination plant in Ras al-Khair, Saudi Arabia
  • Thursday, 26 September, 2024
    Southern Water Ltd
    Southern Water makes plans to tanker supplies from Norway’s fjords

    Threat of drought and water shortages is pushing UK utility to make contingency arrangements

    Norway fjord in the summer
  • Monday, 2 September, 2024
    Moral Money
    Water pricing debate bubbles up in Portugal amid intensifying droughts Premium content

    As an artificial lake on the Iberian peninsula attracts more businesses, it has become a victim of its own success

    The Guadiana river flows into the Alqueva dam
  • Wednesday, 21 August, 2024
    News in-depthClimate Capital
    Water emergency becomes part of Mediterranean summer ritual

    Greek, Italian and Spanish islands rely on rationing, tankers and desalination as global warming and tourists sap reserves

    A worker refills a water tanker
  • Sunday, 18 August, 2024
    Technology sector
    US tech groups’ water consumption soars in ‘data centre alley’

    Usage has increased by almost two-thirds since 2019 in the world’s largest concentration of computing infrastructure

    Birdseye view of high-voltage transmission lines providing electricity to data centres in Ashburn in Loudon County, Virginia
  • Tuesday, 6 August, 2024
    Thames Water
    Thames Water fined £104mn over sewage discharges

    Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water also sanctioned by regulator

    Thames Water’s Deephams Sewage Treatment Works in London
  • Friday, 12 July, 2024
    ExplainerThames Water
    How bad is the crisis at Thames Water?

    Bills are rising across the country and the UK’s biggest water company is in special measures

    Montage of Thames Water logo, a worker from Thames Water pumping water from a drain
  • Friday, 21 June, 2024
    Gardens
    Inside the underground garden of Baldassare Forestiere

    Could one man’s subterranean solution more than a century ago inspire a modern-day model for coping with extreme heat?

    A tree growing out of a circular subterranean courtyard
  • Tuesday, 11 June, 2024
    Women in business
    Three female founders’ plans for addressing water challenges

    From contaminants to consumption, these young companies incorporate protection of a vital resource

  • Sunday, 28 April, 2024
    Lex
    Cheap solar gives desalination its moment in the sun Premium content

    Process of turning salt water into drinkable water is unlikely to be the answer to the bulk of the global water crisis

    Aerial view of Basra desalination plant
  • Thursday, 18 April, 2024
    Spanish economy
    Spanish drought pits tourists against locals in contest for water

    Threat of another dry summer increases struggles over swimming pools and scarce resources

    Hotel pool in Marbella
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special Report
    Future of Water

    The Earth’s supply of freshwater is under increasing pressure from economic development, population growth and climate change. This report looks at the emerging challenges, and the technologies and policies that will be required to overcome them

    People carrying containers queue to collect water
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special ReportFuture of Water
    Wave of innovation aims to make desalination sustainable

    Making seawater drinkable is energy-intensive and polluting. Lots of companies think they can do better

    The Ras al-Khair water desalination plant in Saudi Arabia
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special ReportFuture of Water
    ‘New climate reality’ stretches global freshwater supply

    Population growth and industrialisation are compounding the problem, but there is no shortage of solutions

    View of reservoir at very low water level
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special ReportFuture of Water
    Climate investors see growing opportunities in water tech

    Start-ups looking to serve a thirsty planet may find it easier to raise funds as droughts make headlines

    A view of Gross-Wen Technologies’  Revolving Algal Biofilm System, which uses vertically oriented conveyor belts that grow algae on their surface
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special ReportFuture of Water
    Brewers come under pressure to minimise water footprint

    Drinks companies are looking beyond their factory walls to focus on suppliers, ecosystems and local communities

    An activist in protest, holding up a sign
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special ReportFuture of Water
    Climate change puts pressure on Kenya’s water resources

    The country’s storage and supply network is underdeveloped, but simple solutions can bring big benefits

    A man inspects a large water pan, lined with plastic sheet, in the middle of a grassland
  • Friday, 22 March, 2024
    Special ReportFuture of Water
    Is public or private ownership better for water utilities?

    Higher leakage rates in London than in Phnom Penh underscore a long-running policy argument

    Workers using heavy machinery to fix water leak on the road
  • Friday, 15 March, 2024
    South Africa
    South Africa’s infrastructure crisis deepens as Johannesburg taps run dry

    Parts of the country’s biggest city have been without running water for almost two weeks amid a heatwave

    Residents hold placards during a protest in a Johannesburg suburb against a lack of water
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