Question

China is described as the most water stressed country in East Asia. Why?

Questions 91 - 96: Read the following Question Numbers 91 to 120 passage and answer the questions that follow. The world is running short of freshwater. Populations are growing bigger and thirstier, with the result that freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce. Half the world's wetlands have disappeared during the last Century, while estimates suggest that water use will rise by 50 per cent in the next 30 years. The World Bank report estimates that as much as half of the world's population concentrated in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia will face severe water shortages by 2025. 'Local water conflicts and the loss of freshwater ecosystems loom in some regions.' Freshwater consumption is rising quickly, and the availability of water in some regions is likely to become one of the most pressing issues of the 21st Century. A third of the world population - around two billion people - live in countries that are experiencing moderate to high water shortages. That proportion could rise to half or more in the next 30 years unless institutions change to ensure better conservation and allocation of water. 'China is one country where the portents are gloomy. The most water stressed country in East Asia. China is exploiting 44 per cent of its usable water, a figure projected to rise to 60 per cent by 2020.

• A. China is into widespread deforestation
• B. China exploits 30 per cent of its usable water
• C. China exploits 44 per cent of its usable water
• D. China does not have enough water resources

Answer 1

Answer:

C. China exploits 44 per cent of its usable water

China is described as the most water-stressed country in East Asia because it exploits 44% of its usable water, and this figure is projected to rise to 60% by 2020. This means that China is already using a large portion of its available freshwater resources, putting it at significant risk of water shortages in the future. The high rate of water exploitation is due to factors such as rapid industrialization, increasing agricultural demands, and population growth, all of which place immense pressure on the country's water resources. Additionally, uneven water distribution, with northern China experiencing much more severe water scarcity than the south, further exacerbates the situation.