Intel Assessment: ‘High’ Chance Of International Conflict Over Water By 2040

There’s no shortage of near-future fiction in which a lack of water is the source of all mankind’s woes — and, apparently, fire-guitars. But while screenwriters may take artistic license, increasing tensions over water availability is a very real security concern for US analysts and will only get worse if the world fails to address climate change, according to a new intelligence report. “[A]s temperatures rise and more extreme effects manifest, there is a growing risk of conflict over water and migration, particularly after 2030, and an increasing chance that countries will unilaterally test and deploy large-scale geoengineering — creating a new area of geopolitical disputes,” reads a National Intelligence Estimate on climate change, published today by the Director of National Intelligence…. (Excerpts from  Breaking Defense)