challenges . Vulnerability to water-related impacts of climate change and extreme weather are already felt in all major sectors and are projected to intensify in the future, for example, in agriculture  ; energy and industry  ; water for health and sanitation  ; water for urban, peri-urban and municipal sectors   and freshwater ecosystems  . Agriculture and irrigation account for the most significant proportion of consumptive water use and account for 60-70% of total water withdrawals . Globally, 10% of the most water-stressed basins account for 35% of global irrigated calorie production , and food production is at risk in those basins and worldwide due to changes in hydrological components of climate change. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation has been one of the leading causes of water-borne diseases. In 2017, approximately 2.2 billion people lacked access to safe drinking water, and roughly 4.2 billion people could not access safe sanitation . Inequities in access to safe water are being amplified during the current COVID-19 pandemic . The same 10% of most water-stressed basins also account for 19% of global thermal electricity generation , and globally, both production of hydropower and thermal power has been negatively affected by droughts and other extreme events. Globally, between 16% and 39% of cities experienced surface-water deficits between 1971 and 2000. If environmental flow requirements  are accounted for, these numbers increase to 36% and 63%, respectively. Even under a scenario where urban water gets the highest priority, more than 440.5 million people in cities globally are projected to face a water deficit by 2050 . The situation is particularly precarious in the Global South, where most of the population lacks access to piped water .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report