All articles tagged with #fog harvesting
In Chile’s hyperarid Atacama Desert, some weather stations have recorded zero rainfall for over a century. Despite this, a marine fog called camanchaca, driven by the cold Humboldt Current, provides essential moisture. This fog supports unique lichens, cacti, and human communities through traditional and modern fog-catcher nets, which have supplied drinking water and irrigation for decades.
Fog nets on Mount Boutmezguida harvest Atlantic moisture to supply potable water to villages in the Aït Baâmrane region, ending hours of water-hauling for women, boosting girls’ schooling, and being highlighted by the UNFCCC as a climate-adaptation model.
In Kenya, where water scarcity is a major issue due to drought and failed rainy seasons, locals are finding innovative ways to harvest water from fog and air. Traditional methods involve collecting water droplets that condense on trees during the night, while newer technologies use fans to suck in moisture-filled air and condense it into drinkable water. Fog harvesting projects have been implemented in various countries, but the reliability of fog as a water source is affected by climate change. These methods provide a decentralized water source and offer hope in regions where traditional water sources are scarce or unreliable.