A new UN report warns that women and girls bear the heaviest burden of the global water crisis, collectively spending 250 million hours daily collecting water. This inequality is worsened by the climate crisis, which disproportionately reduces incomes in female-headed households and increases women’s labor hours compared to men’s. Beyond economic impacts, poor sanitation forces millions of adolescent girls to miss school, while long walks to water sources expose women to increased risks of gender-based violence.
Date: March 19, 2026. Source: theguardian.com