← All questionsGS1 · 2023 · Geography ·Global Freshwater Crisis
QUESTION 5
GS1
10 marks

Why is the world today confronted with a crisis of availability of and access to freshwater resources?

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7 min
150 words
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What the examiner wants

Explain why both availability of freshwater and access to it are in crisis worldwide.

ExplainMake clear how and why it happens: causes, process, and an example for each point.

Demand-wise check

  1. 1Availability: limited share of usable freshwater, groundwater depletion, glacier melt, pollution, climate change≈35 words
  2. 2Access: poor infrastructure, inequality, pricing, conflicts over shared rivers≈35 words
  3. 3Examples: Cape Town 'Day Zero', Chennai 2019, Indus and Nile disputes≈35 words

Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.

Answer plan

Freshwater factsAvailability driversAccess driversExamplesSolutionsConclusion

Where marks usually go

  • Treating availability and access as the same thing
  • No data on how little of the world's water is usable freshwater

Draw this

  • Pie chart: total water vs freshwater vs accessible freshwater

Value addition

  • DataOnly about 2.5% of Earth's water is fresh, and most of it is locked in ice and glaciers.UN-Water
  • ExampleChennai's reservoirs ran almost dry in 2019, forcing water trains from Jolarpettai.Tamil Nadu government / news records, 2019