World Water Day is celebrated annually on March 22 to raise awareness about water's scarcity and preservation.

Earth is 71% water, but there are many regions that suffer due to the lack of water as humans need freshwater to conduct their daily activities.

The World Water Day initiative was first put forward in 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, and the first World Water Day was held in 1993. The theme of World Water Day this year, according to the United Nations, is "valuing water" and ''how we can better protect this vital resource. The value of water is about much more than its price."

Here are some facts and quotes about water, courtesy of Water.org and Brainy Quote.

Facts:

  • Today, 785 million people are living without access to safe water, while 2 billion people are living without access to a toilet
  • Each year, 1 million people die from water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases
  • Every 2 minutes a child dies from a water-related disease
  • Only 3% of the Earth's water is fresh
  • Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is found in the oceans, which means it's too salty for drinking, growing crops and most industrial uses

Quotes:

1. Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” — W.H. Auden

2. “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” — Loren Eisley

3. "Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it." — Lao Tzu

4. “Water is the driving force of all nature.” — Leonardo da Vinci

5. “For many of us, clean water is so plentiful and readily available that we rarely, if ever, pause to consider what life would be like without it.” — Marcus Samuelsson

6. "Saving our planet, lifting people out of poverty, advancing economic growth... these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and women's empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all." – Ban Ki-moon

7. "Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man." – Stewart Udall

8. "Water is life's matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water." – Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

A boy splashes himself with water in a river in Sudan's Fashaqa region, a region claimed by both Sudan and Ethiopia
A boy splashes himself with water in a river in Sudan's Fashaqa region, a region claimed by both Sudan and Ethiopia AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY
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