The potential impact of climate tipping points on drinking water supply planning and management in Europe

“In recent decades, substantial advancements have been achieved in state-of-the-art climate models, signifying commendable progress by the scientific community. These models have proven invaluable in comprehending and forecasting anthropogenic climate change. Nevertheless, their efficacy is limited when examining the intricate dynamics of tipping elements and their potential ramifications for overall climate stability. This limitation results in the absence of these tipping elements in widely adopted climate projections utilized by the drinking water industry to assess system resilience.
Despite the prevailing insufficiencies, there is a growing body of evidence indicating the existence and, conceivably, the imminent activation of certain tipping elements. The drinking water sector, characterized by its inherently slow-paced nature due to infrastructure designed for extended operational lifespans, faces a critical challenge. The rapid timescales associated with potential changes resulting from tipping element activations surpass the typical lifespan of drinking water infrastructure. Consequently, the water sector cannot afford to wait for scientific consensus to emerge.”

(Citation: van Thienen, P., ter Maat, H., and Stofberg, S.: The potential impact of climate tipping points on drinking water supply planning and management in Europe, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-1628, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-1628, 2024)

© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.