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Charted: A Decade of Rising Water Conflicts (2010–2023)
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Some of humanity’s earliest wars were fought over water, one of the most essential resources for survival.
Modern day water violence has now expanded in scope. Controlling access is still a factor, but now water resources can be weapons, triggers, targets, and casualties in ongoing conflicts.
And the trend is only worsening. In 2023 there were 248 verified instances of water violence, up from only 19 in 2010, according to data from the Pacific Institute.
We look into why below.
ℹ️ The Water Chronology Conflict Timeline is a live database updated retrospectively, so yearly totals may change as new evidence emerges for past incidents.
Wars, Scarcity, and Fights for Control
As active conflict zones (Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Russia-Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine) have increased, so too have attacks on water systems.
| Year | Water Violence Events |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 19 |
| 2011 | 17 |
| 2012 | 51 |
| 2013 | 29 |
| 2014 | 51 |
| 2015 | 57 |
| 2016 | 65 |
| 2017 | 84 |
| 2018 | 131 |
| 2019 | 129 |
| 2020 | 79 |
| 2021 | 127 |
| 2022 | 228 |
| 2023 | 248 |
These range from Saudi airstrikes hitting essential treatment plants in Yemen in 2014, to U.S. Special forces bombing the Tabqa Dam in Syria in 2017, to Russian forces cutting off water supply to Ukrainian cities.
The recent Israel-Hamas war has also escalated water-related violence in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Along with this, rising scarcity has led to clashes within countries as well. In sub-Saharan Africa farmers and herders are in ongoing conflict over water sources, worsened by ongoing droughts.
Meanwhile, in India, caste-based violence has broken out over water access. In neighboring Pakistan, irrigation disagreements have led to clashes.
As additional context, India and Pakistan spent two decades disputing the sharing of Indus River water—vital for key agriculture belts in both countries—before signing a landmark treaty in 1960 to manage it.
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