Fading Blue: The Sickening condition of Water

"Splish, Splash," water. We can barely survive without water. But what will thee do if heat rises up and take it all away from you?

Just like how relaxing it is to hear as it drip down the surface, freshwater's presence makes our life more soothing. From washing dishes and clothes, water plants, farm irrigation or even drinking it, who can deny that we can't live without water? During these activities, the waste consumption of each drop is greatly observed. While we waste it today, it is expected to become increasingly scarce in the near future and this is partly because of the drastic inclination of temperature, famously known as Climate Change or Global Warming, which is also a result of human’s recklessness and neglect. Now, what we can feel is just a pinch of a terrible crisis that’ll soon slap us hard. Be ready for the great payback.

Due to excessive emission of Greenhouse Gases like Carbon Dioxide, that will rocket up to the atmosphere, the Earth will trap the heat given by the Sun which is supposedly go back to space. This scenario will heat up the world and change the weather patterns of a specific place. If this will continue, dry places will become drier and the people living in it will be hit by the change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) technical report on climate change and water concludes that despite global increases in rainfall, many dry regions, including Mediterranean and Southern Africa will suffer badly from reduced rainfall and increased evaporation that’s why around one billion people in dry regions may face increasingly water scarcity.

Also, as stated, there will be a heavier rainfall than before due to atmosphere’s high capacity of containing evaporated water. Although more rainfall means more freshwater resources, heavier rainfall leads to more rapid water movement back to the ocean which will reduce our capability of storing and using it. It’s not behind our knowledge that as time flies by, the population also increases. Large population means that there’ll be a higher demand for the use of water to supply their needs. We can’t put any solution to it if we don’t act today. Our present supply of fresh water will not be enough if it will continuously decline as the population soars high.

Considering the very little percentage of freshwater’s presence in our world, it’s very alarming to know that its volume began to fall. Approximately of the Earth’s water is 98% salt water and only 2% freshwater. Out of this 2%, 30% is groundwater and 70% is snow and ice. This going on warming up of the world will slowly lessen the water that we can use and as time pass by it will then goes to nothing. Therefore, we need to invest in education and research along with our little ways of helping and keeping our discipline to combat freshwater scarcity in the next millennia.

Let’s not wait before Blue fades completely.