Pollution exacerbates China's water scarcity and its regional inequality.

ABSTRACT: Inadequate water quality can mean that water is unsuitable for a variety of human uses, thus exacerbating freshwater scarcity. Previous large-scale water scarcity assessments mostly focused on the availability of sufficient freshwater quantity for providing supplies, but neglected the quality constraints on water usability. Here we report a comprehensive nationwide water scarcity assessment in China, which explicitly includes quality requirements for human water uses. We highlight the necessity of incorporating water scarcity assessment at multiple temporal and geographic scales. Our results show that inadequate water quality exacerbates China's water scarcity, which is unevenly distributed across the country. North China often suffers water scarcity throughout the year, whereas South Chin

SUBMITTER: Ma T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6994511 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature