Global warming creates problems that are piling up in the world. One of them is changes in the water cycle. Water from around the world is dramatically moving from its usual location, changing from warmer to colder regions.
As reported in the journal Nature, at least twice as much fresh water has moved from hotter to cooler areas than scientists' climate models predict. From studying the concentration of salt in the oceans, scientists can give an idea of how big the change is.
"We already know from previous work that the global water cycle is intensifying. We just don't know by how much," lead author Dr Taimoor Sohail, from the University of New South Wales, said in a statement.
It is known that 80% of precipitation and evaporation occurs over the oceans. In warmer areas, evaporation removes fresh water from the ocean leaving behind salt. This is what makes the sea saltier.
The study estimates that over 44 years, between 77,000 and 46,000 cubic kilometers of fresh water has shifted from the tropics and subtropics towards the poles. That is equivalent to covering the entire United States in about 8 to 5 meters of water.
"Changes in the water cycle can have critical impacts on infrastructure, agriculture and biodiversity. Therefore, it is important to understand how climate change affects the water cycle now and in the future," said Dr Sohail.
Well, if this happens, the water crisis could become a threat to humans around the world in the near future. It's time to start making changes! Thus launched Science Alert.