Can desalination solve the global water crisis?

Published at : 23 Dec 2025

We have the desalination technology to transform seawater into freshwater. So why are we not using it to solve the global water crisis?

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

#PlanetA​​ #Desalination #WaterCrisis

0:00 Water shortages around the world
1:54 History of desalination
2:25 Types of desalination
3:15 Reasons for water scarecity
4:33 Desalination plants today
7:11 The problem with brine
8:50 Potential of desalination
9:46 Cape town today

Read More (Links):

Historic background of desalination and renewable energies:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038092X03002779

The state of desalination and brine production: A global outlook:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718349167

More on water scarcity:
https://worldwater.io/

Special thanks:

Special thanks to Air Water™ South Africa and Adam Spires for their footage of the Theewaterskloof dam

Reporter: Christian Caurla
Camera: Christian Caurla
Video editor: Christian Caurla
Supervising editor: Joanna Gottschalk