A Global concern – Climate change affecting fresh water availability
Water is one of the most important resources on the planet Earth; without water, life on earth cannot exist. As demand for water increases across the globe, the availability of fresh water in many regions is likely to decrease owing to climate change. These pressures may intensify economic disparities between certain countries, as well as between sectors or regions within countries. Water is also the primary medium through which climate change influences Earth’s ecosystem and thus the livelihood and well‐being of nations and societies. Climate change impacts the world’s water in complex ways both in quantity and quality. Global climate change is expected to exacerbate current and future stresses on water resources from population growth and land use, and increase the frequency and severity of droughts and floods. It is anticipated that climate change will affect the availability of water resources through changes in rainfall distribution, soil moisture, glacier and ice/snow melt, and river and groundwater flows.
