Manoj Kumar Aggarwal
There is a high possibility of serious water crisis in India in future. According to various national and international reports, if water management is not improved, the situation will become extremely worrying in the coming few years. According to the recent reports of NITI Aayog and World Meteorological Organization, the water crisis situation in India is as follows. The main concerns and future projections are that there is a huge gap between demand and supply. According to the NITI Aayog report, by 2030, the demand for water in India will be double the available supply. Drastic decline in groundwater India is the world's largest groundwater consumer. Ground water levels in North and North-Western India, especially Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, are continuously falling because water is being exploited much faster than recharge.
Water is the basis of life, but the speed at which we are extracting the water stored under the earth is a serious warning for the times to come. Declining groundwater levels in India, especially in the northern and north-western regions, are not new. But the latest report from the World Meteorological Organization suggests that the problem is no longer limited to a single year of low rainfall seasons. In many areas, groundwater has remained below normal levels for many years. This clearly means that nature is not able to store back as much water as we are extracting from the ground.
According to the 'State of Global Water Resources 2025' report, between 2022 and 2025, persistent groundwater shortage was recorded in many parts of the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India, Southern Africa and Australia. In many areas, excessive exploitation has been considered an important reason for this. Of the groundwater monitoring stations for which data were available in 2025, about 34 percent had groundwater levels below normal or significantly below normal. In the year 2024 this figure was 25 percent. That is, in just one year there was a significant increase in the share of monitoring stations with below normal groundwater. The World Meteorological Organization has also clarified that these figures are based only on areas where regular monitoring is available.
Still, the long-term downward trend raises concerns. This warning is more serious for India. The country's agriculture, rural economy and water supply of rapidly expanding cities are largely dependent on groundwater. Terrestrial water storage recorded below normal during 2025 in northern India. If the gap between groundwater extraction and its recharge continues to increase, the pressure on drinking water, irrigation and industry may increase in the coming years. The biggest problem of groundwater is that it is not visible. When a river dries up, we see a crisis, when a pond becomes empty, we feel worried, but the water level falling hundreds of feet below the ground is realized only when hand pumps, wells and borewells start responding.
The situation is such that in big metros like Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, borewells are drying up or their water is getting contaminated. According to an estimate, by 2050, 50% of the districts in the country may face severe water crisis. Increasing concretization in cities is making this problem more serious. Tall buildings are being constructed, vacant land is continuously decreasing and cement concrete is replacing soil. Roads, parking lots, residential complexes and commercial buildings are turning large parts of cities into paved surfaces where rain water cannot seep into the ground. It rains, water comes, but it quickly goes out of the city through drains and drainage systems. The water which should have gone underground and filled the groundwater reserves, gets washed away within a few hours.
The irony is that on one hand there is waterlogging in cities during the rainy season, while on the other hand there are complaints of groundwater shortage in summer. Trees are not just important for cleaning the air or reducing the temperature. They are also an important part of the local water cycle. Soil, vegetation and open terrain help to trap and slowly drain rainwater into the ground. But in the name of urban expansion, cutting of trees and continuous reduction of open areas is weakening this natural relationship between soil and water. Therefore while planning urban development it is necessary to save green areas, ponds, reservoirs, open fields and natural drainage areas.
The crisis is not limited to groundwater only. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2025 could be among the lowest flow years for the world's rivers in the last three decades. The condition of glaciers is also worrying. For the fourth consecutive year, a decline in ice mass was recorded in all major glacial regions of the world. Celeste Saulo, the organization's secretary-general, compared the state of global terrestrial water storage to a savings account that is constantly being emptied. This comparison makes us understand the seriousness of the problem. We are not only extracting water for today's needs, but also spending the capital stored by nature for the future. The situation is certainly serious, but the solution is not impossible.
First of all, rainwater harvesting will have to be implemented effectively on the ground instead of merely accepting it as a formal condition of building construction. Such arrangements should be necessary in big buildings, apartments, hotels, hospitals, schools, industries and government buildings so that maximum rain water is used for groundwater recharge. Conservation of ponds, old wells, drains and traditional water sources is also necessary. Such places will have to be identified in cities where rain water can be captured and sent underground. The Central Ground Water Board has also been continuously emphasizing on artificial recharge and water conservation structures. This crisis will not be ended by government efforts alone. Citizens also have to understand their responsibilities.
Draining unnecessary water, continuously washing vehicles or roads with pipes, ignoring water leakage and letting rainwater flow wastefully should not be a part of our habits. While constructing new buildings, it is important to think about where the people living there will get water and where the rain water will go. Development should not just mean more buildings and wider roads. Real development is that in which there is balance between water, trees, land and humans. Groundwater takes years to form, but much less time to deplete it. If we do not take serious steps today to save this invisible natural resource, then tomorrow the water crisis may become the biggest challenge before our social and economic development.
Earth's water reserves are actually our common savings account. Along with continuously draining it, it is also necessary to collect water back in it. Government, local bodies, industry, builders and common citizens all have to share in this responsibility. Ultimately we have to understand this simple thing again, Earth exists only because of water, life exists only because of water and its conservation is the responsibility of all of us. Only collective efforts can save this priceless treasure of the earth from drying up.
Let us tell you that in India, more than 80% of the water is used for farming (irrigation), which leads to huge wastage of water. Due to pollution, a large part of the available water has been polluted. Toxic substances like arsenic and uranium have been found in the groundwater of the plains of Ganga and Brahmaputra. Due to climate change, irregular monsoon rains and extreme heat, water sources are drying up rapidly. According to the World Bank and NITI Aayog, India's GDP may decline by up to 6% by 2050 due to water crisis.
To deal with this crisis, the Government of India has formed the Ministry of Jal Shakti and started programs like Jal Jeevan Mission and Atal Groundwater Scheme. To avoid this crisis in future, it is necessary to adopt 'rainwater harvesting' (rainwater harvesting), recycling of waste water and micro irrigation (like drip irrigation) on a large scale. Every citizen will have to understand the importance of water and be aware to prevent wastage of water.