The Science

1. Water is the primary medium through which climate change impacts are felt

  • Over 90% of climate change effects manifest through water — floods, droughts, storms, melting ice,
    and sea level rise.

  • The hydrological cycle (the movement of water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, etc.) is intensifying due to warming.

4. Melting ice sheets and glaciers are accelerating sea level rise

  • Greenland and Antarctica together lose over 400 billion tonnes of ice per year, contributing to roughly 4 mm of sea-level rise annually.

  • Melting also reduces Earth's albedo effect (reflectivity), creating a feedback loop that accelerates warming.

7. Ocean acidification is disrupting marine chemistry

  • The ocean absorbs about 25% of CO₂ emissions, forming carbonic acid that lowers pH levels.

  • This harms corals, shellfish, and plankton -organisms crucial to the marine food web and carbon cycle.

2. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapour

  • For every 1°C rise in temperature, the air can hold about 7% more
    water vapour.

  • This fuels heavier rainfall, stronger storms, and increased flooding in many regions while paradoxically causing drier conditions elsewhere when precipitation patterns shift.

5. Changes in precipitation are intensifying extremes

  • Climate change amplifies both
    extreme rainfall and severe droughts.

  • Wet regions are getting wetter,
    dry regions drier — disrupting agriculture, water supplies,
    and ecosystems globally.

8. Drought and heatwaves amplify each other

  • Hotter temperatures increase evapotranspiration, drying out soils and reducing surface water.

  • This leads to feedback loops: dry soils absorb more heat, worsening drought and wildfire conditions.

10. Water equity and climate justice are deeply linked

  • Climate-induced water crises disproportionately impact low-income and Indigenous communities, especially in the Global South.  Women are often the ones who must face and respond to everyday impacts of water related climate issues, yet they are often less visible in the climate conversation.

  • Access to clean, reliable water is becoming a core issue of climate justice, shaping migration, health, and conflict dynamics.

  • The oceans absorb around 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases.

  • This buffers atmospheric warming temporarily but leads to ocean warming, coral bleaching, and
    marine ecosystem collapse.

6. Freshwater availability is decreasing

  • Nearly 2 billion people already
    live in areas of high water stress.

  • Glacial retreat, altered river flows, and overuse of groundwater
    — worsened by warming — threaten drinking water and irrigation systems.

9. Cryosphere loss affects global circulation and weather

  • Melting Arctic ice changes ocean salinity and currents, potentially weakening the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).

  • This could shift weather patterns across Europe, Africa, and the Americas dramatically.

3. Ocean heat uptake drives global temperature stability — for now