Earth's Future | Prolonged droughts and increasing urban inequality create a growing risk of unprecedented water security challenges in emerging mega-cities. One such rapidly developing major urban agglomeration is Pune, India's 9th largest city. Our research shows that the combined impacts of urbanization and a mid-century multi-year drought under climate change affect all Pune households, but hit hardest are the urban poor living in informal settlements. Through a novel coupled human-natural systems framework, we identify a mix of measures involving water reallocation, an agricultural-to-urban tanker water market, infrastructural improvements, and water regulations that effectively address water insecurity challenges. We further identify synergies that produce beneficial results with fewer implemented mitigating measures, providing guidance critical to policy makers and water managers.

Source: Earth's Future.