The fate of drinking water is linked to rising sea levels, a consequence of climate change and global warming: here’s what we need to know.
NASA map shows sea level rise
NASA developed Sea Level Projection Tool, a new function that allows us to see, over the next few years, how much the sea level will increase: just go to the area that interests us, select the period that intrigues us and that’s it: for example by 2100 in Naples the level will increase by 61 centimeters and in Venice by 68.
What we perhaps don’t realize as we move from one part of the world to another on this map is that this is really our future: it’s not a TV series or a video game.
Sea level rise: what does drinking water have to do with it
The rise in sea levels, in addition to destroying some coastal areas and wiping out entire islands, with imaginable damage to the inhabitants, is also causing the reduction of drinking water.
When sea level rises, the pressure exerted by the salt water that reaches the wells and underground aquifers that contain fresh water also increases: this is the saline intrusion that compromises the quality of the water which becomes unfit for drinking and used for agriculture.
Not to mention that when the water jumps and reaches the fields, the salinity of the soil increases: the consequence is a drastic reduction in agricultural production.
Furthermore, infrastructure for the treatment and distribution of drinking water, often located in coastal areas, could be damaged by flooding that increases with rising sea levels.
Water is not infinite
Consider that, of all the water on planet Earth, only 3% is usable for drinking.
Already today, around 2 billion people do not have regular access to drinking water and by 2050, 50%, one in two people, will live in areas subject to water stress.
