How Water Supply Is Affected by Global Warming

Evaporation and Melting

• Water evaporates when temperatures rise, and as the Earth's ambient temperature increases water stored in reservoirs and other storage facilities starts to deplete. This is on top of the natural increase in water usage when temperatures increase for watering plants, filling swimming pools and drinking. This problem is made even worse by the melting of the ice caps which could result in rising sea levels.

Seasonal Changes

• Increased usage of water in the summer and natural evaporation when temperatures are high are factors when it comes to supplying water. Utility companies know when water use will increase, but know this is offset by increased rainfall during other months to refill water storage facilities. Thanks to global warming, the seasonal rains are not as dependable any more. This leads to a reliance on water during hotter seasons and the potential for water shortages.

Snowfall

• Areas around the Rocky Mountains rely on the snowfall during the winter to melt and fill rivers and lakes during the spring. Due to increased temperatures, snow packs are receding, leaving less water to melt. This results in reduced water flow during the summer months.

Droughts

• Increased temperatures, coupled with falling water supplies, lead to droughts. This means farmers cannot irrigate crops and domestic gardeners are not allowed to use hoses. This could, in the long run, lead to less plant life, vital to the fight against global warming and the potential for shortages of basic food necessities like wheat.

Arid Regions

• Increased drought conditions and temperatures can have a devastating effect on areas on the verge of being deserts. Parts of southern Africa, the western United States and the Mediterranean are already experiencing the effects of this with increasing arid regions and the expanding boundaries of deserts.

Aquatic Ecosystems

• Humans demand water and governments are going to ensure both homes and businesses are supplied with this most basic resource. This is often to the detriment of aquatic ecosystems where rivers, lakes and streams dry up, leaving no water for fish to live in or other animals to drink.