A Jewish expert has predicted that by 2050 London will "not have enough water to go around".
Neal Landsberg, who chairs the Sustainable Water Industry Group (SWIG), warned that with its population set to rise by three million over the next 35 years, the capital's 26 inches of annual rainfall would not meet demand.
The stereotype that London is a rainy city was false, he said, pointing out that "we are in a water-stressed area, we have the same rainfall as parts of Sudan and northern Israel."
He explained that climate change was causing "global weather weirding," with the capital suffering from the "driest, coldest and hottest months on record" in the past few years.
He identified the hosepipe ban which came into effect before the 2012 Olympics as the start of a trend. "The reservoirs were empty at that point," he said. "People were panicking."
Mr Landsberg, who recently spoke at an event organised by the Israeli embassy, praised Israel as "a leader in innovation, technology and implementation in minimising water usage".
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