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Fresh water is a renewable and variable, but finite natural resource. Fresh water is replenished through the process of the natural water cycle , in which water from seas, lakes, forests, land, rivers and reservoirs evaporates, forms clouds , and returns inland as precipitation. [ 4 ]
Global map of countries by total renewable internal freshwater resources (billion cubic meters) in 2020, according to World Bank [1]. This is the list of countries by total renewable water resources for the year 2020, based on the latest data available in January 2024, by World Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization (AQUASTAT data). [2]
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. These resources can be either freshwater from natural sources, or water produced artificially from other sources, such as from reclaimed water or desalinated water (). 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh ...
Oceans often act as renewable resources. Sawmill near Fügen, Zillertal, Austria Global vegetation. A renewable resource (also known as a flow resource [note 1] [1]) is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of time in a human time scale.
The remainder of Earth's water constitutes the planet's freshwater resource. Typically, fresh water is defined as water with a salinity of less than 1% that of the oceans – i.e. below around 0.35‰. Water with a salinity between this level and 1‰ is typically referred to as marginal water because it is marginal for many uses by humans and ...
Fresh water is a renewable resource, yet the world's supply of clean, fresh water is under increasing demand for human activities. [12] The world has an estimated 1.34 billion cubic kilometers of water, but 96.5% of it is salty. [13] Almost 70% of fresh water can be found in the ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland. Less than 1% of this water ...
The remaining freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, wetlands, the soil, aquifers and atmosphere. All life depends on the solar-powered global water cycle, the evaporation from oceans and land to form water vapour that later condenses from clouds as rain, which then becomes the renewable part of the freshwater supply. [ 12 ]
Freshwater is a renewable resource, recirculated by the natural hydrologic cycle, but pressures over access to it result from the naturally uneven distribution in space and time, growing economic demands by agriculture and industry, and rising populations. Currently, nearly a billion people around the world lack access to safe, affordable water.