U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | January 15th, 2025
Summary
The following are the key points of this chapter:
The steady rise in global temperature as a result of human activity is causing changes in Earth’s water cycle.
The following are the key points of this chapter:
The steady rise in global temperature as a result of human activity is causing changes in Earth’s water cycle. The amount of water stored within and moving between vapor, liquid and frozen components of the water cycle is shifting, with significant consequences for water availability.
Climatic drivers underlie regional or local changes in water supply and their socioeconomic impacts. Threats to the quantity and quality of water available for humans and ecosystems in North America include increases in drought, aridification, and fire weather; heavy precipitation and flooding; cryosphere decline; rising surface-water temperatures; and saltwater intrusion in coastal areas.
An understanding of how changes in the major climatic drivers impact the water cycle and the accurate simulation of impacts in hydrological models are crucial to predicting future water availability and developing adaptation strategies to ensure human and ecosystem water supplies.
Companion chapters:
U.S. Geological Survey Integrated Water Availability Assessment—2010–20, Chapter A
Water Supply in the Conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, Water Years 2010–20, Chapter B
Status of Water-Quality Conditions in the United States, 2010–20, Chapter C
Water Use Across the Conterminous United States, Water Years 2010–20, Chapter D
Integrated Water Availability in the Conterminous United States, 2010–20, Chapter F