Continuing on with our review of the impacts of climate change, we will be discussing the impact it has on our water supply. As many of us know, only a small fraction of the water on our planet is actually drinkable, so what impact does climate change have on this small percentage?
The answer to this question is that climate change will have many profound impacts on the small percentage of water that is safe for humans to drink. One of these impacts is that of the water cycle. Studies show that the processes of both evaporation and precipitation are affected extensively by the rising temperatures in the air. With the air getting warmer, water is evaporated into the atmosphere at a rapid pace, creating or intensifying the issue of droughts across the United States and the rest of the world. Precipitation is also intensified whenever it does fall, creating flooding issues that can cause major damage to water supply systems, further hampering what little water is already safe to drink.
By hindering the water supply, climate change causes even more trouble with agriculture and food supplies across the globe. With a decrease in water and more frequent droughts, farmers begin to struggle with producing crops, which has more far-reaching impacts on hunger and people's livelihoods. At the current pace of climate change, this issue and its impacts will only continue to get worse. Climate change and rising temperatures can cause dangerous pathogens and contaminants to grow in drinkable water, putting people at risk of contracting deadly diseases and dealing with harmful medical conditions related to unsafe drinking water. Water supplies are stressed out by rising temperatures, and what safe water there is falls at risk of further contamination.
We can combat this issue of diminishing water supply by combating the issue of climate change. Every little thing we do each day helps. Whether it is riding a bike or walking instead of taking a car or growing your own fruits and vegetables, we can all work together to combat climate change, and thus chip away at the problem of a decreasing water supply across the world.
-Edible Landscape Initiative Team