water scarcity
The lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region.
writing-task-1Environment
IELTS use
Common in task 1 to describe water availability data, often shown in maps or tables comparing regions.
Examples
- The map highlights areas experiencing severe water scarcity.
- Water scarcity has increased by 30% in the last decade.
- The table compares water scarcity levels across five continents.
- Agricultural expansion is a major cause of water scarcity.
Collocations
- water scarcity problem
- The water scarcity problem is most acute in arid regions.
- address water scarcity
- New desalination plants help address water scarcity.
- water scarcity index
- The water scarcity index shows a worsening trend.
- severe water scarcity
- Parts of the country face severe water scarcity during summer.
Word family
- Noun
- scarcity
- Adjective
- scarce
Paraphrases
- water shortage: More general; suitable for describing lack of supply.
- freshwater deficit: More technical; good for scientific data.
- water stress: Refers to difficulty in accessing water; often used in reports.
Common mistakes
- water scarcity are increasing to water scarcity is increasing. 'Scarcity' is uncountable and takes singular verb.
- scarcity of water to water scarcity. Both are correct, but 'water scarcity' is more common in academic writing.
- water scarceness to water scarcity. 'Scarceness' is not standard; 'scarcity' is the correct noun.