Among people who study human development, it is a widely-held view that each person needs about 20 litres of water each day for the basics - to drink, cook and wash sufficiently to avoid disease transmission.Yet at the height of the East African drought, people were getting by on less than five litres a day. In some cases, surviving on less than one litre a day, enough for just three glasses of drinking water and nothing left over.

Some people, perhaps incredibly from a western vantage point, are hardy enough to survive in these conditions; but it is not a recipe for a society that is healthy and developing enough to break out of poverty.There are many drivers of human development.I think that water is the most important.A changing climate is only one of the factors likely to affect the amount of water at each person's disposal in future.A more populated world - and there could be another 2.5 billion people on the planet by 2050 - is likely to be a thirstier world.

Those extra people will need feeding; and as agriculture accounts for about 70% of water use around the world. Extra consumption for growing food is likely to reduce the amount available for those basic needs of drinking, cooking and washing. On the other hand, as a society industrialises it tends to become less reliant on farming - which could, in principle, reduce its local demand.

The picture is improving to some extent. Across the world, 1.6bn more people have access to clean drinking water than in 1990. Population growth and climatic changes could change the picture. Essentially, A warmer climate overall means a wetter climate; warmer air can hold more moisture. But weather patterns are likely to shift, meaning that water will be deposited in different places with a different pattern in time.For more on this compelling documentary tune in to bbc news on the one and only Dish Network.

By: Frank Bilotta

About the Author:

Frank helps people learn about Dish Network Satellite TV, and how they can save money every month with popular Dish Network Packages. Dish has advanced, award winning, Dish DVR and Dish HD receivers, there is a lot of good news to share and also help people determine if satellite internet is right.

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