Asian water crisis should not surprise us

New news about an old topic; Asia is entering into a water crisis. Actually, Asia has probably been in a water crisis for quite awhile, it's just that it's acutening (that's another word for intensificationing).

Water crisis threatens Asia's rise

What are the aspects of this? First I guess, then I check the article.

1. Big population

Check.

"The risk of conflict over water rights is magnified because China and India are home to more than a third of the world’s population yet have to make do with less than 10 percent of its water."


2. Poor environmental control

Check.

"The probable water deficit for China is more manageable on paper — a shortfall of 200 billion cubic meters — but 21 percent of the country’s surface water resources are unfit even for farming, which consumes about 70 percent of the country’s water."


3. Uncertain sources and the future of them

Check.

“Even though the exact timing and magnitude of the ‘tipping point’ of each glacier is still uncertain, the projected long-term exhaustion of glacial water supply should have a considerable impact on the availability of water for both agricultural and human consumption,” the scientists wrote."


That was pretty easy to figure out. A partial mitigation route is cheap and abundant and clean nuclear power, enabling the operation of desalination plants on the oceanic coast, of which both China and India have a lot of. But more coal-burning plants would NOT be good for glaciers.