Is there a word for something that has been slowly intensifying, and has now reached a degree that needs attention [closed]

Solution 1:

You could use the scientific term “Critical point” in a literary way to describe the moments in which a paradigm shift or significant change occurs.

critical point noun/

Physics The point at which a substance in one phase, as the liquid, has the same density, pressure, and temperature as in another phase, as the gaseous.

Dictionary.com

Solution 2:

You might say that water scarcity has crossed a threshold:

3b : a level, point, or value above which something is true or will take place and below which it is not or will not
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Alternatively, water scarcity may be approaching, or may have already reached or crossed a tipping point:

: the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place
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