Where water conflicts pose the biggest threat in 2026

The sharp rise in water-related conflicts in recent years is in focus as the World Water Week conference begins on Sunday in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, and online.

With the theme “Water for People and Progress”, the conference is organised annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and highlights growing global water-security challenges.

According to the Pacific Institute, a US-based nonprofit water think tank, 420 water-related conflicts were recorded in 2024 – a record high and a 78 percent increase from the 235 conflicts recorded in 2022.

The increase is largely driven by attacks on water infrastructure and disputes over access, particularly in regions affected by prolonged wars.

For more than three decades, the Pacific Institute has tracked global water conflicts through its Water Conflict Chronology, classifying each incident by whether water served as a casualty, trigger, or weapon of war.

In Gaza, 1.9 million of 2.1 million people remain displaced, while about 90 percent of water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks, according to UNICEF.

Up to 70 percent cannot collect the minimum six litres of water per person a day for drinking and cooking and 90 percent of households faced moderate-to-high water insecurity.

The medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, reported that water prices have risen by up to 500 percent. Repeated attacks, restrictions on supplies and damage to water facilities have disrupted distribution, worsening diarrhoeal and skin diseases and increasing risks for children and pregnant women, MSF added.