WaterLensAI-enhanced water evidence

Ask AI · every answer names its sources

Clear water solutions start here

Evidence on water for every country and basin, connected in one place, to investigate progress on critical water security themes, with scenarios to explore how futures could be improved.

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How WaterLens works

Understand water conditions today and explore what could change

WaterLens brings water evidence for every country and river basin into one place. Look up a place, follow SDG 6 and the six Interactive Dialogues, and find the data behind every figure. Then use Futures to explore how a change in policy or practice could affect water, people and the SDGs.

Geographies

A profile for every country and river basin.

Library

26,000 datasets to search and download, behind every figure.

Safely managed drinking water
Renewable freshwater
River flow forecast
FuturesA dashboard for SDG 6 and each Interactive Dialogue
DATA

Water conditions today and in the future

Year

Today20302050

Climate

WetterMiddleDrier
RainfallRiver flowDam levels
ACTIONS

Explore actions a country could take

IrrigationLow
Water managementLow
Policy and governanceLow
Dams and infrastructureLow
IMPACTS

What it means for people and the SDGs

Target you set

Gap in water services
Vulnerability
Climate exposure

Themes

SDG 6 and the six Interactive Dialogues of the UN Water Conference, each with its own dashboard.

6ABCDEF

AI in WaterLens

Ask AI, and an AI summary on every page.

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Geographies

Open a profile for any country or river basin. See its water and climate, the policies and context behind them, and what they mean for people and the SDGs. Each profile starts with a short AI summary, and you can compare a place with its region.

Geographies· The world
Country overview

Select a country

Water stressFAO AQUASTAT, SDG 6.4.2–
Safely managed drinking waterWHO/UNICEF JMP, 2024–
Safely managed sanitationWHO/UNICEF JMP, 2024–
Renewable water per personFAO AQUASTAT, 2022–
AI summary · not yet reviewedPoint at a country on the map, then select it.
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Themes

Follow SDG 6 target by target and explore the evidence behind each of the six Interactive Dialogues of the UN Water Conference, at global and country levels. Each dialogue brings its evidence together in four parts and opens its own Futures dashboard.

Themes· UN Water Conference
  1. A
    Water for PeopleImprove water and sanitation services
  2. B
    Water for ProsperityBalance water needs
  3. C
    Water for PlanetProtect ecosystems and reduce risks
  4. D
    Water for CooperationCoordinate shared water
  5. E
    Water in Multilateral ProcessesTurn commitments into results
  6. F
    Investments for WaterDirect investment
6Clean water and sanitation
Interactive Dialogue A

Water for People

Where do gaps in water services coincide with vulnerability and climate shocks?

Status and directionBurden and fairnessLimits and costsAction

Safely managed services, world, 2015 to 2024

WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2024

Where service gaps and vulnerability meet

  • Gap in water servicesSafe water, sanitation and handwashing · WHO/UNICEF JMP
  • VulnerabilityINFORM Risk 2026
  • PopulationBy area, urban and rural · WorldPop

Climate shocks a country is exposed to

  • River flood
  • Tropical cyclone
  • Coastal flood
  • Drought

INFORM Risk 2026, read as a climate exposure score

Actions, and places to start

  • ActionsEach linked to the condition it responds to
  • Places to startWhere service gaps, vulnerability and climate exposure meet
  • FuturesTest a change in this dialogue's dashboard

Library

Search 26,000 datasets by place, topic or source, and download them with their citation. Each dataset includes its source, latest update and whether the data are observed or modelled, with links to related IWMI projects and tools.

Library· 26,000 datasets
Rainfall, IMERGNASA GES DISC · daily
Download
River flow forecastGeoGLOWS ECMWF Streamflow
Download
Limpopo water accountsIWMI · Limpopo Digital Twin
Download
26,000datasets
  • Water conditions
  • Actions
  • Impacts

Projects: ENSO, DIWASA, Limpopo Digital Twin

Ask AI

Ask a question and get an answer informed by WaterLens data and analysis, with its sources named. On any page, use AI to summarise the content or change the place, time or scenario you’re exploring.

Ask AI· summary and assistant
Ask AI
Where are the gaps in safe drinking water in South Africa?
WHO/UNICEF JMP 2024SDG 6.1.1Places: South Africa

Try asking

What if supply falls 30% in the Limpopo?Which lever matters most for this country?Compare South Africa with its neighboursDraft talking points for this scenario

Built on IWMI’s work

IWMI projects and tools

WaterLens draws on IWMI projects and tools. Explore what they contribute and what they can help you do.

All projects and tools

Evidence you can trust

Trace every figure to its source

IWMI research and trusted global sources flow into one place, and the source stays on every figure, so you can use it in your own work.

A lens over a band of river landscape. To the left, the river as grey survey data; inside the lens, the same river redrawn as data, with contours, a survey grid, the channel and measuring points; to the right, the real landscape.

Evidence

26,000datasets to search, download and cite172 countries · 5 types of source

  • IWMI researchStudies, field work and models from IWMI
  • Satellite observationsEarth observation of water, land and crops
  • In-situ dataMeasurements from gauges, wells and stations
  • Hydrological and climate modelsSimulations of river flow, rainfall and the years ahead
  • Data from other organisationsFAO, WHO/UNICEF, the World Bank, WRI and other partners

WaterLens

AI agents synthesise the research and link it to climate scenarios and water management interventions, to give you the impacts.

  • AI agentsApply the research to the place you choose, explain what changed in plain words, and flag inputs that are not realistic
  • Climate scenariosToday, the season ahead with El Niño, 2030 and 2050
  • Water management interventionsLevers such as farm water allocation, irrigation efficiency and new supply, tested in Futures

Impacts

What you can do with it: get to a decision faster, and show where every figure comes from.

  • Brief a delegationCollect figures with their sources into a briefing note
  • Compare with neighboursSet a country beside the ones around it
  • Test a policy before committingChange a lever in Futures and see what follows
  • Cite every figureEach figure carries its source and year

Open to everyone working on water

Start with any country or river basin. An account is free, and keeps your work.

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  • Save the futures you test
  • Follow your places
  • Keep your reports