World water forum opens after dire UN warning

The world must race to avert disastrous loss of water supplies, Brazil's President Michel Temer told a conference today, after the UN said some 5.7 billion people may run short of drinking water by 2050.

"There is simply no time to lose," Temer said in opening remarks at the 8th World Water Forum, which takes place all week in the Brazilian capital.

Under the slogan "sharing water," the forum brought together 15 heads of state and government, 300 mayors and dozens of experts. An estimated 40,000 people were expected to attend, organizers say.

They were meeting shortly after publication of the United Nation's 2018 World Water Development Report, which said 3.6 billion people, or half the world's population, already live in areas where water can be scarce at least one month a year.

That could rise to 5.7 billion people by 2050, the report said.

At the Brasilia forum, the main focus was on the specter of supplies collapsing in major urban centers, as almost happened in Cape Town this year.

Until earlier this month, the South African city was projected to run out of water as early as July, forcing the closing of household taps and extreme rationing.

That crisis has now eased, with the local government saying that a campaign to bring 60 per cent reduction in consumption has done enough to dodge the shut-off.

But the drama set off alarm bells.

"This is the consensus," Temer said. "Life on earth is threatened if we don't respect nature's limits."