Study tackles water insecurity in Pune, India—challenges and policy solutions
Rapidly growing cities face water security challenges due to rising demand and limited freshwater supplies. Extreme droughts and water shortages have impacted more than 80 big cities since 2000. By mid-century, it is projected that 33-50% of the world’s cities will face water scarcity, with a quarter of this population living in India.
The recent water crisis that gripped cities like Cape Town, São Paulo, and Chennai shows how droughts can worsen existing inequalities in access to freshwater supplies and water infrastructure, disproportionately impacting low-income communities and informal settlements.
The crisis has also highlighted that water insecurity is not only a problem of limited water supplies but also an outcome of multiple converging factors, such as local water cycles, socio-economic dynamics, and policies and governance in water management and distribution.
The study, “Drought-Driven Water Insecurity in an Emerging Indian Megacity: A Coupled Multi-Agent Systems Approach for Policy Evaluation”, published in Earth’s Future journal in March 2026, explores the water security in Pune, India, in the future, where the city is seeing a rapid population growth projected to reach between 7 and 11 million by 2050.
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