More water in the air means a greater chance of precipitation, often in the form of intense, unpredictable storms. Warmer temperatures are heating the lower atmosphere and increasing evaporation, adding more water vapor to the air. Recent research shows that in some parts of the world, the water cycle is speeding up in response to human-caused climate change. How climate change is disrupting the water cycle Plants also release water vapor through the pores, or stoma, of their leaves and stems, in what's known as transpiration. Wind can speed up that evaporation process. As the surface warms, liquid water evaporates and becomes vapor, escaping into the atmosphere. The water held in lakes, rivers, oceans and seas is constantly heated by the sun. Only around 1% of the world's total water supply is readily available to sustain all life on Earth. Most of that, however, is out of reach, locked away in the ice or deep underground in aquifers. The remaining 3% is fresh water which we use for things like drinking, bathing or irrigating crops. Of the world's finite supply of water, around 97% is salty. Water in its three natural phases, be it gas, liquid or solid, forms part of the natural cycle that continuously refreshes the supply of water that we, and every other living thing, need to survive. Put simply, the water cycle - also known as the hydrological cycle - is the process by which water moves through the Earth's land, seas and atmosphere.
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