In California, this winter has been another dry season in a bitter four-year drought, one of the most severe in the region's history. In Pakistan, the minister of water and energy recently declared that, “Under the present situation, in the next six to seven years Pakistan can be a water-starved country."
2,000万人的圣保罗市区如今正处于水配给的边缘，这是世界主要城市从来没有发生过的现象。在加州，今年冬天又是一个干燥的季节——干旱已经维持了四年，是地区历史上最严重的一次。在巴基斯坦，水和能源部长最近宣称“在目前的情况下，不出六七年，巴基斯坦就可能沦为贫水国。”在伊朗，紧邻阿富汗的哈默恩（Hamoun）湿地正在消失，给当地人口造成重大威胁。