The Science

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

Climate change hits hardest through water, with more than 90% of disasters water-related.
Climate change is intensifying the hydrological cycle (the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-Atmosphere system) affecting water security, especially among already vulnerable communities.

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 generally contains 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.
Many 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.
When it does rain, these soils are less able to absorb the water, leading to worse flooding.

10. Water equity and climate justice are deeply linked

Water crises already disproportionately affect low-income and indigenous communities, particularly across the Global South.
- These communities are also the ones leading local adaptation and resilience efforts, yet their voices often remain underrepresented in global climate discussions.
- Women are frequently on the frontlines of managing and responding to everyday water challenges, yet they remain less visible in the climate conversation.
As the climate crisis intensifies, water scarcity and contamination are expected to worsen, deepening existing inequalities.
Limited access to clean, reliable water is increasingly driving patterns of migration, affecting public health, and fuelling local conflicts.

The oceans have absorbed around 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases to date.
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. Loss of Earth’s ice in all its forms (cryosphere) effects global circulation and weather

Melting Arctic ice changes ocean salinity which impacts 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