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A Pakistani girl filling a can with water from a hand pump, seen in silhouette against a low sun
Image: ARIF ALI/AFP

Water

Necessary for life, water is a finite resource. The depletion of freshwater can risk water security, endanger ecosystems and even fuel conflict. As part of World Water Week 2025, DW looks at the global state of H2O.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

View from under the sea bottom on sun rays shining through water surface

Scientists suspect freshwater ocean beneath Atlantic seabed

Scientists suspect freshwater ocean beneath Atlantic seabed

Massive pockets of fresh water hidden deep beneath the sea could eventually provide drinking water for millions in need.
ScienceSeptember 5, 202502:07 min
A world map depicting marine dead zones

What is a marine dead zone, and how does it affect our food?

What is a marine dead zone, and how does it affect our food?

As waters warm, gas exchange between the surface and depths begins breaking down, threatening marine ecosystems.
ScienceSeptember 5, 202505:58 min
Dried-up river in Great Britain

Why is Europe running out of water?

Why is Europe running out of water?

Heat, drought, and water scarcity have hit Europe. Are there effective solutions?
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 4, 202507:48 min
A desalination plant in Israel

Desalination doesn't have to be bad for the environment

Desalination doesn't have to be bad for the environment

Drinking from the sea is essential to securing water supply, and need not have negative environmental impacts.
Nature and EnvironmentSeptember 3, 2025
William Gregorio and his son Yamry stand where the family's former home once stood

Philippines: Rising sea levels or sinking land?

Philippines: Rising sea levels or sinking land?

Filipinos often find themselves up to their necks in floodwater. Experts do not see climate change as the sole cause.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 31, 20257 images
A young boy from the Turkana community takes water from a shallow well dug into a dry riverbed at Eliye springs on the western shore of Lake Turkana in Turkana

People in northern Kenya struggle to find drinkable water

People in northern Kenya struggle to find drinkable water

Until now, the saltwater Lake Turkana has not been a source of drinking water. The UN wants to help.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 29, 202502:45 min
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Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

Water and green lakeside shores stretch into the distance. In the foreground ist a power plant

US rural communities bearing the brunt of bitcoin mining

A community in New York state fears that a bitcoin mining operation is harming their health, environment and tourism.
ClimateJune 30, 2025
A view of Cologne and the Rhine River, at a very low level, the dry sandy river bottom exposed

Drought has many faces and many impacts

Droughts and water crises are worsening worldwide. What are the impacts — and how can we cope with increasing shortages?
Nature and EnvironmentJune 17, 2025
Three people walking on the riverbed of the Loire, in France. A large bridge is seen overhead

How Europe is planning to cope with drought

As crucial rivers run low and farmers worry about their crops, the EU is hammering out a strategy to keep water flowing.
Nature and EnvironmentJune 4, 2025
A volunteer tries to identify a plant using her smartphone in Zimbabwe.

Citizens transform urban green space in Zimbabwe

With Africa's urban population expected to double by 2050, green city spaces will be vital.
Nature and EnvironmentMay 26, 202505:36 min
Children lining up to fill their water containers in Islamabad, Pakistan

Pakistan's water crisis: Buying every drop to stay alive

Piped water is unsafe in urban areas, forcing millions to depend on costly tankers and overcrowded filtration plants.
SocietyMay 25, 202503:13 min
A drone view shows stranded boats over the sandbanks exposed due to drought at the Solimoes River, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon River

Why Brazil faces a water crisis

Brazil has been enduring severe water shortages in recent years, from the Amazon rainforest to the Pantanal wetlands.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 16, 2025
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