Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources
The impact of climate change on water resources has become a major problem for the world.
The relationship between climate change and water are inextricably linked because many of our daily activities and planning are dependent on water availability.- Ifeoma Cheta Okonkwo
On the 18th and 19th of April 2020, Revamp Rave Network continued her virtual training programme on Climate Change themed “Climate Change Impact on Water Resources”. Ifeoma Cheta Okonkwo — Wash Advocate and Project officer Hope Spring Water Charity Foundation and Mahmood M. Mohammed — Sustainability and Innovation Analyst taught the sessions.
Ifeoma Cheta Okonkwo on teaching the first phase of the session, spoke about climate action (adaptation and mitigation), the link between climate change and water, and the impact of climate change on water using Lake Chad a case study.
She defined climate change as any long term alteration in standard weather patterns, either globally or regionally. She said these changes are evident globally and anthropogenic activities are the major driving factors to the changes.
Concerning Lake Chad, she mentioned that Lake Chad was once one of the world’s largest lakes, but today it is a shadow of itself. The region has receded from 33,000km2 to 300km2 (shrinking to 99%) within two decades.
She stipulated that the cause of the size reduction was the effect of climate change on the lake, desertification, and over-exploitation through damming, irrigation, and pollution.
The impacts of climate change on water resources as mentioned by her includes; Precipitation, evaporation and water acidification and to tackle the problems of climate change and scarce water resources, there is need for water conservation. One such method is to plant trees as planting trees can lower Co2 in the air and lower Earth’s temperature.
She concluded by saying that “to keep our lives safe, our water must be safe to keep our water safe, we must prepare for climate change mitigation and adaptation”.
The second day, Mahmood .M. Mohammed facilitated the second phase of the session on the 19th of April, 2020. He explicitly spoke about groundwater and groundwater contamination and the effect of Climate Change on water sources.
He said while there may be uncertainty surrounding the scale, scope, and pace of climate change, one thing is exact- cities and towns everywhere will be affected significantly by the climate change-driven impacts.
In defining climate change, he said that climate change is a defining issue of our time. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are unprecedented in scale — without drastic action, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.
He defined “impact” has a marked effect or influence (substantial effect) on someone or something with resources as a source of supply and support or aid that can be readily drawn upon when needed.
Mahmood defined water as a clear, transparent, odourless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is based on the fluids of living organisms. Its chemical formula is H2O.
He explained that groundwater is the water present beneath Earth’s surface in soil pore spaces and rock formations’ fractures. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is known as an aquifer when it can yield a usable water quantity.
He mentioned that groundwater is recharged from the surface; it may naturally discharge from the surface at springs and seeps and form passes or wetlands. Groundwater is also often withdrawn for agricultural, municipal, and industrial use by constructing and operating extraction wells.
The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock become completely saturated with water is called the water table. The study of the distribution and movement of groundwater is hydrogeology, also called Groundwater Hydrology.
He went further to talk about Groundwater contamination which occurs when human-made products such as gasoline, oil, road salts, and chemical get into it, causing it to become unsafe and unfit for human use.
For example, pesticides and fertilizers can find their way into groundwater supplies over time. Contaminated groundwater can have serious health effects and introduce various forms of diseases such as hepatitis and dysentery, affecting lives from septic tank waste.
Poisoning may also occur by toxins leached into well water supplies, and it can also harm wildlife. Other long term effects such as certain types of cancer may also result from exposure to polluted water.
He concluded by saying some ideas are one step further from being an idea; investments have been made, serious interest has been expressed, or governmental strategies are targeted on these ideas. But the most important thing is the sustainable implementation which can never be overemphasized.
Read more — https://rravenetwork.medium.com/impact-of-climate-change-on-food-security-a605c6b40920
