A natural resources crisis like water scarcity is listed in the World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Risks Report, as one of the top-10 threats facing the world in the next decade. Image: Unsplash/Nathan Dumlao One solution to meet the growing demand for freshwater is desalination, which involves removing the salt from seawater to produce drinking water. While this process alone can't prevent a global water crisis, it can play a vital role in providing more people around the world with access to clean, safe drinking water. By 2030, there could be a 40% global shortfall in freshwater resources, which combined with world population growth that's set to increase from 8 billion today to 9.7 billion by 2050, would leave the world facing an extreme water crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to see the biggest change in water demand, with a projected 163% increase by mid-century, World Resources Institute data shows. This is four times the expected rate of change in Latin America, the...
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