how does climate change affect water security?
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Rising temperatures can threaten water security by boosting evaporation, changing rainfall patterns and causing snow to fall increasingly as rain. Warming can also affect water supplies by causing glaciers and ice sheets to melt.
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More frequent and intense precipitation events due to climate change may amplify existing land use impacts. Impervious surfaces impair the natural flood-absorbing capacities of wetlands and floodplains, thereby increasing the risk of flooding and erosion.
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A warmer climate is expected to increase the risk of illnesses and death from extreme heat and poor air quality. Climate change will likely increase the frequency and strength of extreme events (such as floods, droughts, and storms) that threaten human health and safety.
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How does climate change affect oceans and marine life? ... Sudden rises in temperature and acidification can lead to the loss of marine habitats and species. Shifting ocean currents and warming waters are changing the distribution of fish stocks and altering the structure of ecosystems.
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At the same time, extreme temperatures, a decrease in water availability and changes to soil conditions will actually make it more difficult for plants to thrive. Overall, climate change is expected to stunt plant growth.
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Nutrition-health: Increased water scarcity due to climate change reduces the capacity to produce food and its quality, which has serious implications for food security, nutrition and health. In Ethiopia alone 9.7 million people are currently in need of emergency food aid.
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Desalination provides a climate-independent source of water for critical human needs and economic development (industry and agriculture in particular). It is an effective way to secure water supplies against the effects of climate change, a growing population and drought.
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Increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns. Explore how climate change is affecting the Southwest.
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Water is a key element of life for everyone on Earth. As the world's population grows, the demand for water mounts and pressure on finite water resources intensifies. Climate change, which is also closely tied to population growth, will also lead to greater pressures on the availability of water resources.
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Higher temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will severely affect the production patterns of different crops. Agricultural productivity will also be affected due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. All these changes will increase the vulnerability of the landless and the poor.
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Higher temperatures, an increased frequency of storms, sea level rise, and other effects of climate change are likely to affect fish physiology and ecology as well as the operation of aquaculture. Some fish species, such as catfish, may grow more rapidly with higher temperatures but be more vulnerable to disease.
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The impacts of climate change on our oceans include shifts in temperature, acidification, deoxygenation and changes in ocean currents. ... Shifting ocean currents and warming waters are changing the distribution of fish stocks and altering the structure of ecosystems.
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Climate change poses significant challenges to global food safety. ... The sensitivity of germs, potentially toxin-producing microorganisms and other pests to climate factors suggests that climate change has the potential of affecting the occurrence and intensity of some foodborne diseases.
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Changes in salinity could also affect water currents because saltwater is denser than fresh water and sinks. Warmer air can absorb more water than cooler air, so as the climate warms, more water can evaporate into the air. ... That intensifies the water cycle on both ends of the spectrum.
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Climate change increases the air temperature due to which freshwater ecosystems gets warm up. Most of the lakes and streams have experienced decline in water level during summer droughts. These changes are expected to continue and accelerate in the future.
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The main climate change consequences related to water resources are increases in temperature, shifts in precipitation patterns and snow cover, and a likely increase in the frequency of flooding and droughts. Depending on the region, climate change will have widely differing effects on Europe's water.
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Increased pollution levels in waterways also lead to a rise of algal blooms, which we'll address below. Climate change is causing air temperature to rise, which provokes corresponding water temperature increases in lakes, reservoirs, and streams.