Climate change is set to significantly increase pressure on people's access to water and sanitation unless governments do more to prepare key infrastructure now, according to the UN.

Climate change is already posing serious challenges to water and sanitation systems in countries around the world, Thomas Croll-Knight, spokesperson for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), said Friday.

Despite being a priority aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, plans to make water access possible in the face of climate pressures, are absent in the pan-European region, according to the UNECE and the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe.

And "in most cases" throughout the region of 56 countries, there is also a lack of coordination on drinking water, sanitation and health.

From reduced water availability and contamination of water supplies to damage to sewerage infrastructure, these risks are set to increase significantly unless countries step up measures to increase resilience now, Croll-Knight said.

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It is estimated that more than one-third of the European Union will be under "high water stress" by the 2070s, by which time the number of additional people affected (compared to 2007) is expected to surge to 16–44 million.

And globally, each 1°C increase caused by global warming is projected to result in a 20 percent reduction in renewable water resources, affecting an additional seven percent of the population.

Meanwhile, as governments prepare for the next UN climate conference (COP 27) in November and the UN 2023 Water Conference, the UNECE painted a potentially grim picture moving forward in parts of Europe.

From water supply and sewerage infrastructure damage to water quality degradation and sewage spillage, impacts are already being felt.

For example, increased energy demand and disruption to treatment plants in Hungary are threatening significant additional operational costs for wastewater treatment.

Challenges in ensuring adequate water supply in the Netherlands have increased, while Spain struggles to maintain a minimum drinking water supply during drought periods.

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Despite water management adaptation initiatives in many nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national action programmes (NAPs) under the Paris Agreement, governance mechanisms and methods for integrating water and climate are absent, leaving the interface of drinking water, sanitation and health worryingly unaddressed, in most cases.