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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.

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All Content on this topic

19.03.2012 global 3000 klima bolivien

Ideas for a cooler world

Climate change is forcing creative new water strategies in Bolivia
March 20, 2012

French physicist simulates dying stars with water

The simulation hopes to unlock new insights into the precise mechanism that dictates how stars collapse and then explode.
ScienceMarch 19, 201203:36 min

World Water Forum

Activists and industry clash over water management as water experts discuss scarcity.
March 18, 2012
Olivier De Schutter, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food, answers journalists' questions, during a press conference, after he presented his report to the 16th session of U.N. Human Rights Council, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland,

New rules for land

The UN has adopted draft guidelines to protect communal land users from land grabbing.
March 12, 2012
Water flows down a drain

Water crisis on the boil

Conservation and rights groups used the opening of the World Water Forum in the French port city of Marseilles to highlight the role scarce water resources now plays in conflict and famine around the world.
March 12, 2012
School girl in India drinks water from a new handpump

'Water fund a win-win'

The UN World Water Forum plans a fund from which both poor and rich countries could profit.
March 12, 2012
An Indian schoolgirl drinks water from new handpump

UN calls for water rethink

A report from the United Nations has highlighted chronic water shortages in many parts of the world, with climate change likely to make the problem worse.
March 12, 2012
The picture shows a river and its bank in Brandenburg

City of Brandenburg

Fans of recreation, the outdoors and being on the water will feel right at home in Brandenburg
SocietyMarch 7, 2012
Fire boat response crews spray water on the burning remnants of BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig

Settlement negotiations

The US government and BP try to reach a settlement before the Deepwater Horizon spill trial.
February 28, 2012
A man and his dog look out over dried-up reservoir

Moving water

A drought has some asking if it's time to link up the UK's water systems to improve supply.
February 24, 2012
Contrails at Frankfurt am Main airport

Emissions explained

Researchers are working to discover how air traffic emissions affect the global climate.
February 23, 2012
eine der Wasserstellen, in Kisenyi, Kampala, Uganda Foto: Asumpta Lattus

Clean water

Public toilets in Kampala's slums try to prevent sewage from polluting Lake Victoria.
February 22, 2012
Perucac Lake near Bajina Basta, Serbia

Hydropower

Though climate friendly, using water to generate electricity faces a number of objections.
February 20, 2012
A lump of coal in someone’s hand (Foto: Reuters)

Energy quandry

Sri Lanka's energy needs are growing and the country is entirely dependent on coal imports.
February 14, 2012
A mountain water fall

Water power in Sri Lanka

Home to ancient irrigation systems, Sri Lanka turns to small hydropower plants for energy.
February 14, 2012
The Security Council

Demands eased

A new draft UN resolution on Syria leaves out major demands in a concession to Russia.
February 3, 2012
A polluted lake in China

Chinese water pollution

Authorities detain seven men over a toxic spill in the Longjiang River, affecting millions.
January 31, 2012
A flexible solar panel held against the light

Bright prospects

Some of the most innovative solar technology concepts are ready to hit the market.
January 17, 2012

Solar-powered irrigation

Farmers in Nicaragua are opting for solar-powered water pumps. It's an investment that's paying off.
January 17, 2012
Survivors mainly from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran

Dozens of bodies found in Indonesian waters

Dozens of bodies are found in Indonesian waters after overloaded boat capsizes.
December 21, 2011
A river full of garbage

Precious waste

Water is a valuable commodity. But so is waste water and treating it is crucial.
December 7, 2011
Ned Breslin

Interview

GLOBAL IDEAS talked to an expert about what's needed to make safe water a reality in poor nations.
December 7, 2011
Die Plaza Mayor im historischen Zentrum von Lima. (Aufnahme vom 26.02.2006). Foto: Jürgen Darmstädter +++(c) dpa - Report+++

Water crisis in Lima

Surrounded by desert and faced with water scarcity, the Peruvian capital is exploring new options.
December 6, 2011
A person carrying two buckets of water from a lake

Nexus conference

Experts address how a sustainable economy helps a growing world cope with finite resources.
November 16, 2011
Alain Vidal, head of the water and food program with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

Water scarcity

Scientists say political will is required to tackle the effects of climate change on river basins.
November 14, 2011
A Thai boy paddles along a flooded area in Bangkok

Flooding

Thailand braces itself as waters advance to key areas of the capital city.
November 4, 2011
An illustration of the cold water vapor detected around the star TW Hydrae

Water in space

Scientists have detected a huge 'dsk' around a star with enough water to fill thousands of oceans.
October 24, 2011
Fries emerging from hot oil in deep fryer

Energy from frying fat

In Austria, calories in fast food are being put to good use by turning old frying fat into energy.
October 4, 2011

Wasserratte

Wasserratte
October 4, 2011

Butterfahrt

Butterfahrt
September 15, 2011

Wasserhahn

Wasserhahn
September 13, 2011

Bleigießen

Bleigießen
September 13, 2011
Anti-Nazi demonstrators in Dortmund

Left, right fight

Left-wing extremists battle it out with police in Dortmund as neo-Nazis take to the streets.
September 4, 2011
Libyan rebels

Back to normal?

Humanitarian concerns grow as residents in Tripoli try to readjust to normal lives.
August 29, 2011
Wadden Sea

Discover Germany

In the Wadden Sea area of northern Germany the water - and the tide - reigns supreme.
August 29, 2011
Libyan rebels in Tripoli

Horror scenes

Tripoli is facing a growing humanitarian crisis with widespread power and water shortages.
August 27, 2011

World Water Week tackles the water challenges faced around the word

For more than 20 years, the Stockholm International Water Institute has hosted the annual World Water Week, bringing experts from the industrialized world and developing countries together.
ScienceAugust 25, 201105:41 min

Water access top priority in urban areas of developing nations

Cities in developing nations are booming, but many lack adequate water infrastructure to support a growing population. Alexander Mueller of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations speaks to Deutsche Welle about World Water Week.
BusinessAugust 24, 201104:37 min
Water flows from a tap

Desalination dilemma

Desalination might help solve the water shortage problem, but at what cost to the environment?
August 23, 2011
A stream of water flows into a person's cupped hand

World Water Week

Experts are in Stockholm to discuss ways to ensure water access for the world's growing population.
August 21, 2011
Rioters attempting to break into a bank

Hamburg violence

Police use water cannons against rioters in the German city of Hamburg, following street festival.
August 21, 2011
Shop fronts are seen damaged in Enfield area of north London

Fight back

Britain's premier pledges to fight back after a fourth night of riots spread outside London.
August 10, 2011
The Itaipu dam, the world's second-largest hydroelectric power producer, is seen in the Parana River along the border of Brazil, right, with Paraguay, left, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. The 25-year-old dam provides about 20 percent of Brazil's electricity, and was the largest producer of electricity in the world until China's Three Gorges dam recently surpassed it. (ddp images/AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

Harnessing energy from water

August 2, 2011
Enceladus

Space shower

The ESA's Herschel spacecraft has identified water falling onto Saturn from its moon, Enceladus.
July 27, 2011
View of the Kanchenjunga mountains in the Himalayas (Source: npb)

Himalayas running dry

Droughts and deforestation threaten farmers on the foot hills. But clever water storage can help.
July 12, 2011
Scene in Berlin

Scene in Berlin

Berlin might not be near a beach, but that doesn't stop Berliners from lounging near water.
July 8, 2011
The clouds of Rho Ophiuchi are mostly made of hydrogen, but contain traces of other chemicals, and are prime targets for astronomers hunting for molecules in space

Astrochemistry

The discovery of hydrogen peroxide in space has scientists hoping to find other sources of water.
July 7, 2011
A man rides a horse into a sandstorm in Darfur

Peace flows from water

In Darfur, you can't have peace without water, and there's no water without peace in the region.
June 22, 2011

Water could be used to help enhance peace instead of conflict in Darfur

The conflict in Western Sudan's Darfur region has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced an estimated two million people from their homes. Disputes over scarce water and grazing land between black African farmers and Arab pastoralist communities, in large part, triggered the war. Lack of access to water remains one of the major drivers of the ongoing conflict.
BusinessJune 22, 201105:34 min

UN-Water

United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015
June 14, 2011