(ANSA) - NEW YORK, MARCH 22 - Water, the "lifeblood" of humanity, is increasingly at risk in the world due to excessive development and "vampiric" consumption.
The alarm was sounded by the UN in a report which highlights how the water shortage is getting worse with the imminent risk of a global crisis.
The world is "blindly walking on a dangerous road with unsustainable water use, pollution and global warming draining the lifeblood of humanity," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The UN report comes on the occasion of the water conference which will open in the next few hours at the United Nations.
According to the report, about two billion people lack access to safe drinking water while 3.6 billion lack access to reliable sanitation.
"Water scarcity is becoming endemic," reads the report, which notes that global water use has increased by about 1% each year over the past 40 years and is expected to maintain similar growth rates through 2050.
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