Climate is Water

"If climate is the shark, water is its teeth," was the quote making the rounds at World Water Week this year. And the bite is deadly.

In the World Economic Forum Global Risks Report, which envisions how global risks will evolve and interact over the next decade, the feedback loop between climate and water is made real and profound.

At Circle of Blue, we've been covering the intersections with front-line reportage stretching from Bangalore to Beijing and the Great Lakes to the Aral Sea. As a partner of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets, we've collected the best of water and climate coverage in one convenient location.

Here are five reasons why we're following this intersection so closely:

If climate mitigation is about carbon emissions, climate adaptation is about water

Climate change is water change. Urban heat waves, melting snowpack, devastating floods, longer droughts, destructive wildfires, shrinking reservoirs, rising sea levels, desiccating soils, declining groundwater levels – all are consequences of an increase in carbon pollution and all can be traced to the loss or redistribution of fresh water.

Warmer temperatures and deeper droughts stress food security and political stability

Agriculture accounts for as much as 90% of global water consumption, and climate change hits agriculture with crippling effects: higher temperatures decrease plant yields, and rainfall extremes can flood or parch crops. In countries with weak governments, a breakdown in food production can spark debilitating political and social crises.

Moving and treating water consumes energy; generating and using energy consumes water

The herculean effort to lift, move, clean, heat, and treat water is itself a prime user of water resources. This cycle accounts for nearly one-fifth of California’s electricity use and a significant share of its carbon emissions.  In water-stressed parts of the world as diverse as Singapore, Libya, and Yemen, water infrastructure requires massive commitments of energy. The water-energy connection flows in both directions. Energy development and electricity generation often depend on water. Coal, the world’s leading power source, requires great quantities of water for mining and processing. Water is just as critical for cooling coal, gas, and nuclear plants, and large amounts are needed for biofuels such as corn. Hydropower, too, is vulnerable to drought. Yet, the water-energy cycle does offer a potential dividend: conserving water saves energy, and a reduction in energy use saves water.

Climate change worsens water pollution and availability

Floods may inundate treatment facilities and cause overflows of hazardous sewage. Diseases such as dengue fever that thrive in warm, wet conditions will spread more rapidly and expand their reach beyond the tropics.

Climate change is altering the timing and availability of water supplies. Water temperatures are warming, cooking up the conditions that encourage algal blooms. Seas are encroaching, pushing saltwater farther inland. Combined with drought and upstream dam-building, those forces are propelling brackish water higher and higher in the Mekong River watershed, damaging rice crops.

"With water scarcity expected to increase as populations grow and the climate changes, the world cannot afford to waste and contaminate its precious water resources." - Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis report

People pay more attention to water than climate

Water, unlike a mass of carbon atoms, is visible and tangible. Abstract discussions about emission caps and parts per million concentrations become immediately concrete when the talk turns to drought and deluge. Public opinion reflects this division. Two-thirds of Americans believe climate change is either a crisis or a serious problem, with a majority wanting immediate action to address global heating and its damaging consequences, according a new poll by CBS News.