(ORDO NEWS) — The scientific journal Nature published an article describing a study by Australian scientists who calculated how the water cycle in nature is changing and suggested what it could threaten humanity today.
It has been found that the fresh water cycle is accelerating 2-3 times faster than previously thought. At the same time, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, especially floods and droughts, is changing.
Scientists from the University of New South Wales, together with colleagues from the Center for Climate Research, have developed a new method for calculating the amount of water evaporating from the oceans and the amount of precipitation.
To do this, they studied changes in water salinity in different parts of the ocean. Scientists believe that over the past 50 years, between 50,000 and 77,000 cubic kilometers of fresh water have migrated from the tropics to more temperate regions. This is about the same volume as 120 Sydney harbours.
The circulation intensity increased by 7%. It turns out that 7% less precipitation falls in dry areas, and 7% more in wet areas.
These figures were thought to be between 2% and 4%. Even if global warming can be kept at current levels, natural disasters will be 14% more powerful than they were 100 years ago.
Australia, Central America and the Mediterranean will become significantly drier. There may be a real threat to the existence of cities due to lack of fresh water. Wetter regions will become even wetter, and there will be more snow at the poles.
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