Water is crucial for life, ecosystem, and human existence, making it the second most important natural resource after fresh air. The presence of water in solid, liquid and gas/vapors form is probably the single most important parameter in determining the impact of climate on mankind. The climatic system can be regarded as global hydrosphere consisting of various subsystems interconnected by the transfer of water in various phases, such as surface and near surface water processes of evaporation, runoff, groundwater recharge, and interception. Hydroclimate is a scientific field that studies the impact of water processes on Earth's climate, focusing on natural phenomena like floods and droughts. The hydrologic cycle is key as it transports water to plants, animals, and humans, distributing nutrients, pathogens, and sediment within aquatic ecosystems.
Hydroclimate:
Hydrologic cycle: The water needed for drinking, irrigation, sanitation, and other necessities is provided via the hydrologic cycle. The perpetual flow of water through the Earth's atmosphere is called the hydrologic cycle, or the "water cycle." It is an intricate system with numerous interconnected processes. When liquid water evaporates, condenses to form clouds, and then precipitates back to Earth as rain and snow. When liquid water boils or evaporates, or when ice sublimates, water vapor is created. It regulates the planet's weather patterns and provides water for all living organisms. Life depends on clean water, which would run out if it did not naturally renew itself. As the water seeps into the earth, pollutants and poisons are extracted. Unfortunately, rainwater is sometimes contaminated by inorganic and organic contaminants as a result of human activities. Granular particles and atmospheric gases that dissolve in the lower troposphere contaminate rainwater.
Source of Water: Water sources are bodies of water which may be separated and label as Surface water and underground water. The water found in rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, huge masses of ice, and other bodies of water on Earth's surface is known as Surface water. Underground water that supplies to wells refers to the water present beneath the earth's surface filling the pores and cracks present in the rocks. The source of the water supply decides which communities in towns or cities have access to water. Water bodies that supply the general public with water, such as lakes, rivers, streams. While artesian wells, man-made wells, springs, and aquifers are example of Underground water. Fresh water is not always drinkable water, that is, water safe to drink by humans. Without treatment, a big portion of the fresh water on Earth, both surface and underground water is unfit for human consumption. Drinkable water, comes from surface and ground sources and is treated to levels that fulfil the normal colour and taste and medical standards for drinking. It is very important for protecting health and safety, only use approved drinkable water sources for cooking and drinking.
Consumption of Water: The responsibility of water utility (providing water to the public for domestic or drinking use) begins at the rainfall stage of the hydrological cycle. While surface waters are the starting point of the hydrological cycle in most of Europe, utilities in certain water-scarce countries promote rainwater gathering from rooftops. Most importantly, it runs into our homes and taps for regular water consumption, giving us a handy and easily accessible supply of water for a variety of functions in our life. Homes are supplied with clean, fresh water by the municipal water departments or companies via a system of pumping stations, treatment facilities, and subterranean pipelines. The constant flow of water into our houses, whether it be for cooking, taking a shower, or making a refreshing drink, guarantees that we always have the resources we need to complete our daily tasks and keep our homes comfortable. The consistent supply of water also helps us to keep hygiene standards high by making it simple for us to brush our teeth, wash our hands, and keep our dwellings clean.
The Municipal department or company must thus go and collect all of that unclean water after we use it in our homes and businesses. They have to transport it to the water treatment plant via their underground pipelines. That's where the labour-intensive cleaning and restoration of safety takes place. They remove all of the debris, chemicals, and other materials that were within. After that, they put it back in the rivers so that it can continue to flow in the direction of the ocean. To ensure that the ecosystem is preserved and that we have access to clean water, a lengthy process must be completed. The work done by those water departments or companies to purify that contaminated water for future usage is crucial.
Disturbance in Hydrologic cycle:
(i) Cutting down huge numbers of trees: Climate change also affect water supply and demand. The importance of trees to the water cycle is widely admitted. Forests soak up (like a towel) a large amount of water from the atmosphere as they expand. The trees hold all that moisture inside of them. The trees eventually exhale, releasing the water back into the sky. Because water is what fills the clouds and produces rain, that water is very significant. The water cycle would come to a sudden end if the trees did not take in water vapor from the surrounding atmosphere. For it to rain again later, we need those forests to be soaking up (like a towel) water. The atmosphere and the trees interaction are two things helping each other. When lots of trees are cut down, it disturbs the level and dries up the moisture needed to continue the water cycle. This can cause upsetting the balance of the water cycle by affecting the underground and surface water.
(ii) Air pollution: Oceans are immediately impacted by air pollution, which also has a major effect on the water cycle. The pace at which water evaporates and enters the atmosphere can be impacted by particulate matter's ability to block solar energy from reaching the earth's surface.
(iii) Our responsibilities: In order to minimize chances of disturbance in the natural water cycle; we should save limited water resources, ensure surface water ecosystems and manage our rivers by preventing pollutions. It is our responsibility to refrain from causing disturbance in the hydrologic cycle, to achieve this goal we should adopt following measures at local, regional and global level:
- Balancing water resource management.
- Avoid deforestation and organize tree planting instead.
- Reducing Water leakage (pipelines or canal)
- Wastewater Treatment: eliminating pollutants from wastewater/sewage
- Industries should maintain plants to re-treat their wastewater.
- Follow the instructions of Climatologists.
Pure Ordinary water & human health
Pure Ordinary Water: Water is extremely important to human health. It provides nutrients, removes waste products, protects joints and organs, and regulates body temperature. Pure ordinary water, tastes different depending on the naturally absorbed minerals in different places and regions, and therefore has different characteristics from person to person depending on the situation. However, harmful bacteria and substances can contaminate the drinking water through water sources or pipelines. Contaminated drinking water can become cloudy due to minerals, discoloured due to high levels of iron and magnesium, odourless due to dissolved gases and inorganic compounds, and have strange tastes due to fluctuations in salinity, pH, and mineral content. It is important to analyse drinking water for possible health risks from contaminated water and use water purification methods to protect your health.
Drinking and fresh water: In the world, freshwater makes up only 3% of total water; the remaining 97% is useless. Agriculture uses around 70% of the freshwater that humans utilize. Since dissolved particles are virtually always present in fresh water, it cannot be considered pure water. While rainwater that has not been sufficiently cleaned or filtered to meet living standards is typically used to collect non-potable water, tap water that is distributed to public areas is treated to make it safe to drink.
Purification of water: This procedure successfully reduces the amount of different impurities, such as suspended particles, parasites, bacteria, algae, viruses, and fungi. Techniques for purifying water include boiling, filtering, UV treatment, chlorination, distillation, and reverse osmosis, among others. All organic contaminants are eliminated from the water by the dissipation of bacteria and viruses brought on by high temperatures. Heat-sensitive bacteria are eliminated by boiling water, but hazardous materials like fluoride, heavy metals, and pesticides are left behind. Elements, grime, germs, viruses, and chemicals are all eliminated by filtration. Due to its low cost, reverse osmosis (RO) filtration is utilized in the drinking water industry. Although it might not be as popular, mineral water drawn from groundwater sources or protected aquifers has some health advantages.