Climate Change and Groundwater
Mutarara District, Mozambique; Headwater of River Limpopo, Botswana
Source: Richard Taylor
Our climate and the water cycle are in close interaction. High temperatures lead to high evaporation rates and contribute to less groundwater recharge. But climate change also means sea level rise. In coastal regions this can lead to an increased intrusion of saltwater in the aquifers of the mainland. Coastal near aquifers are a very overused drinking water resource anyway due to rising population levels; thus this has an even bigger negative impact on the quality of the resource.
Also the drying up of soils due to missing precipitation leads to the dying of vegetation and can reinforce soil erosion and can finally lead to desertification.