A staggering four billion people may be facing water scarcity. A new study shows that two out of every three people on our planet simply do not have enough water to meet their basic needs.

"We find that four billion people live in areas that experience severe water scarcity at least part of the year, which is more than previously thought, based on those earlier studies done on an annual basis," said Arjen Hoekstra, co-author of the new study, in an interview with Tech Times.

This doesn't mean that we lack water in the world. In fact, previous studies have shown that we have more than enough water to cover all of our needs. Instead, the issue is getting the water where it needs to go; water isn't available at all times, and isn't always available in the places where it's needed.

In this latest study, the researchers compared consumption of water to available water on a monthly rather than an annual basis from around the world. The models, in particular, focused on climate, land use, crop growth, irrigation, population densities and industries, according to Voice of America.

In the end, the researchers found that the key to more sustainable water use is to add consumer awareness and also government allocation of water resources. Keeping these things in mind is crucial for the future of water sustainability.

The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

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