Water scarcity due to climate change could cost the Middle East and North Africa up to 6% of their GDP in less than 35 years, the World Bank warned. Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank president said “water scarcity is a major threat to economic growth and stability around the world and climate change is making the problem worse,” he said. “If countries do not take action to better manage water resources, our analysis shows some regions with large populations could be living with long periods of negative economic growth.”