Human Right To Water

Living in Minnesota we don't have the issue of water scarcity but in many nations access to water is a luxury that people don't have. In Rajasthan, India there is a small rural desert community consisting of 30 houses. During the months of May and June, the heat in Rajasthan is so extreme that any local water bodies are dried up. As a result, they must look elsewhere for water.

These are a variety of water issues resulting from climate change. All over the world there are millions of people each day that do not have access to water. According to Shaila Shahid, International Centre for Climate Change, “263 water bodies are shared by two or more nations". In developing countries 71% of water collection is done by women and girls so they end up spending two thirds of their day getting water for their families. This is another representation of water scarcity that is present all around the world. In many places water is so scarce that people do not have a proper place to go to the bathroom, so they have to find a field to relieve themselves.

Water scarcity is one of the biggest challenges we face today. Fortunately, in Minnesota we have an abundance of water so there is no need to worry about running out of water. That is not the case in most places in the world as a result of increasingly worse climate change. The impact that climate change plays is huge due to high temperatures that dry up many sources of water. In some parts of the world the nearest available water often takes a few hours to walk to. We are blessed to have such easy access to water unlike the majority of the world's population.