Climate Change Threatens Water Cycle
Source: LIPI (Indonesian Institute of Sciences)
Date: 26 April 2020
Bogor - Along with climate change, the water cycle is also expected to experience significant changes and have an impact on human life. "There are at least five important impacts that occur due to climate change, namely water pollution, loss of biodiversity, lack of clean water and sanitation, drought and flooding, and water conflicts," said Research Professor of LIPI Limnology Research Center, Ignasius Dwi Atmana Sutapa on Friday (24/4), in Bogor, West Java.
As a result of climate change, Indonesia is expected to suffer from the effects of rising sea levels. "Rising sea levels can cause some small islands to sink and some cities on the seafront such as Jakarta, Semarang and Surabaya will experience flooding," he added.
He explained, to cope with the effects of climate change that occurred in Indonesia, especially related to the availability of clean water, the government continued to increase the construction of reservoirs that are used to accommodate excess water in the rainy season.
"Excess water that has been stored in reservoirs can be utilized in the dry season which is currently happening to the extreme. In addition to meeting the need for clean water, reservoirs can also support the community's economy, namely to be used for irrigation," Ignasius said further.
Ignasius reminded that if the water is not managed properly, there will be a disaster because water is a very important asset. "Water resources can be said to be not unlimited. The amount of water remains constant, but the need for water is increasing along with the increasing number of population and the quality of water is declining over time due to human activities," he said.
He said 97% of the water on the Earth is in the ocean which is salt water and only 3% is fresh water. "Help save the Earth by using water wisely because the amount of water will not increase as illustrated in the water cycle," he concluded.
