How many times have you found yourself driving slowly through a thick fog, cursing that white curtain that limited visibility and slowed down your journey? Yet, the very thing we consider a nuisance could become one of the most precious resources of our future.
In a world where fresh water (rephrasing: the AVAILABILITY of fresh water) is increasingly scarce, some researchers are looking to fog as a treasure hidden in plain sight, offering a potentially limitless source of water. It's an idea that seems almost too simple to be true, but it's already proving its worth in the driest parts of the planet, where every drop of water can mean the difference between life and death.
Fog as a solution to drought
A new study suggests that by capturing tiny droplets of water from the air, fog could become a renewable water source: researchers tested the concept in Alto Hospicio, a town on the edge of the Atacama Desert, the driest nonpolar region on the planet.
With less than a millimetre of rain a year, the inhabitants depend from ancient underground aquifers that have not been replenished for over 10.000 years. It is a dramatic situation that, with the worsening of climate change, risks becoming truly unsustainable.
How fog harvesting works
Using simple mesh panels, researchers have developed a system that traps water from fog as it moves through the air. The droplets collect on the mesh, run down a gutter, and then flow into storage tanks. It's a low-cost, low-maintenance way to create a renewable water source without requiring electricity.
Over the course of a year, scientists discovered that Each square meter of net could capture an average of 2,5 liters of water per day. During the peak fog season, This number has jumped to 10 liters per day.
With a 17.000-square-meter “mist farm,” communities could collect 300.000 liters of water per week.
I can't help but imagine the impact such a technology could have. in regions such as Sicily or Sardinia, where the summer drought becomes more severe every year. Or in the arid areas of Africa, where access to drinking water remains a privilege for a few.
A paradigm shift in water supply
La Dr. Virginia Carter Gamberini, one of the study's lead researchers (that I link to you here), calls this a significant shift in the way we think about fog. Traditionally seen as a small-scale, rural solution, fog collection could become a practical supply of drinking water urban, helping cities combat water shortages caused by climate change.
I find it fascinating how what we consider a meteorological nuisance can be transformed into a vital resource. It is not the first time that nature has offered us solutions that were just waiting to be discovered. But in an era of increasing water stress, the ability to “farm” fog could represent much more than a technological innovation: it could be a step towards a future where access to water is no longer a source of conflict or suffering.
