Cairo among 11 cities most likely to run out of drinking water due to pollution: BBC

Cairo is among 11 cities across the world that are most likely to run out of drinking water due to untreated agricultural and residential waste, according to a BBC report published on Sunday 18 February.

Citing the World Health Organization (WHO), figures show that Egypt ranks high among lower middle-income countries in the number of deaths related to water pollution. The UN estimates critical shortages in the country by 2025, the BBC report said.

In March 2017, Egypt’s Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the country had entered the water poverty phase, and that the annual amount of water supply per person had fallen to 700 cubic meters, compared to the global average of 1,000 cubic meters.

He added that the desalination of seawater is currently a very high priority for Egypt.