[November Free Report] The Freshwater Storage of the Tibetan Plateauby Seojin Lee | 01-12-2022 15:52 |
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Although our planet is approximately covered by 70% water, we all know that most of it is not drinkable. In fact, according to National Geographic, only 3% of the Earth's water is freshwater. However, even most of the 3% is locked up in glaciers and other resources, which makes it inaccessible. Therefore, only 1.2% of Earth's water is actually drinkable. Humans too often neglect the scarcity of freshwater on Earth, and scientists' predictions about the Tibetan Plateau are undoubtedly alarming. According to researchers and professors of universities around the world, there will be a substantial decrease in the availability of freshwater on Earth-specifically, the freshwater storage of the Tibetan Plateau. The freshwater resource that the Tibetan Plateau currently provides is impressive. Nearly 2 billion people, those from Northern India to even Afghanistan, are benefited from the natural resource. Unfortunately, if no action is taken to combat the current climate change occurring, the water resource of the Tibetan Plateau could be completely lost by the next century. Such a prediction is alarming: this complete eradication of the freshwater resource could easily endanger the lives of 2 billion people. In response, professors worldwide all urge the need to strengthen climate policies and raise awareness of the severity of the problem. A hopeful note is that the Tibetan Plateau's water storage is still largely underexplored. With the appropriate resources and attention given to the issue, we can not only fight the decline of the water storage but also uncover more available freshwater. Source: https://www.enn.com/articles/70946-irreversible-declines-in-freshwater-storage-projected-in-parts-of-asia-by-2060
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