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The Effects of Global Warming on Water Scarcity

As global warming becomes more of a problem for earth and its inhabitants, it will seem to many as if water is becoming scarcer. What is a more accurate description, however, is that the distribution of water on the planet will begin to change in radical ways, leaving some people and regions with far less water than they are accustomed to.

Glaciers and Snow Melt
- One of the main sources of water for many low-lying areas throughout the hotter summer months is glacier and snow melt. Many glaciers may eventually disappear as warming trends continue, but more immediately, changes in the snow melt will have a significant impact on how water is delivered. The Sierra Nevada mountain region, for example, is expected to get hotter sooner in the spring, resulting in snow that melts earlier in the year, leaving less water for the end of the summer.
Changing Weather Patterns
- As global warming ramps up, a myriad of weather patterns that people have come to rely on will shift, causing scarcity of water in many regions throughout the world. Increases in drought, for example, are expected for parts of Africa, but other areas of the continent could see an increase in monsoon activity as the result of those same changes in weather patterns. Arizona is another example of a region negatively affected by drier and drier seasons.
Water Aquifers
- Another primary source of water in many parts of the world are underground aquifers. Many of these aquifers, however, are being drawn down much faster than they can be resupplied. Saudi Arabia is a primary example, where a lack of perennial rivers forces the country to draw down on its aquifers faster than the aquifers can replenish themselves. Global warming may very well further slow the refilling of those and other such aquifers, exacerbating the problem.
Big Losers
- Global warming will not affect all countries equally, and there are some countries that will suffer the effects of global warming, such as water scarcity, much harder than others. Perhaps not surprisingly, countries along the equator will be among those hardest hit by global warming. It will get hotter there, which will dry out those areas further and reduce what little water exits there. Water scarcity as a result of global warming will, unfortunately, affect these typically poorer countries much more than those located closer to the poles, which could actually get wetter as a result of global warming.

Nature