Is this the future?

billions more humans to live are certainly a reality.

But perhaps an even greater worry are the figures that demonstrate we are running out of water. Even in the UK, with our reliable rainfall, the Environment Agency produced a disturbing report — unless rapid action is taken to deal with our excessive usage and waste of water, England will face shortages by 2050.

It may seem like an apocalyptic storyline from a futuristic movie, but a number of cities around the world are predicting such scenarios.

Cape Town has already declared a date for “Day Zero”, when their water will finally run out — unless regular heavy rains, something entirely out of our control, come to the rescue.

Televisions issued forceful alerts stating that showers should be kept to 90 seconds only, and residents were encouraged to bathe with just a bucket of water, using the grey water left to flush toilets when totally necessary.

A daily living allowance of just 50 litres was set in place, and many residents stockpiled water in fear of the doomsday. On the scale of disasters, it has been likened to a large earthquake or tsunami. A leading geographer claims that while Cape Town is the first major city to face such a crisis, it is unlikely to be the last. There have been serious water shortages in California, Brazil and Spain, and studies predict that even in Britain we are at risk of a future with water resources stretched to breaking point.

The world is also facing the reality that people today are living far longer lives. Providing them with water will soon become our foremost challenge.

Apparently, we can’t simply rely on the obvious answer that our planet is 70 per cent covered by oceans. The cost of desalination is prohibitively expensive.

To many observers, we can only pray for a scientific genius to arise, one who can invent a practical way to use the sea to water our crops, and provide our grandchildren with enough to drink.

⬤ Charles Saatchi’s latest book is We Are Bananas, published by Palazzo