 "Fog harvesting can solve water crisis in arid cities, says Chile scientists")
Capturing water from fog on a large scale could provide a sustainable source of drinking water for some of the world’s driest cities, according to new research conducted in northern Chile.
Scientists studying the desert city of Alto Hospicio, where annual rainfall averages less than 0.19 inches (5 mm), say fog harvesting could help supply clean water to urban populations facing acute shortages.
Currently, many of the city’s poorest residents rely on water delivered by truck, but clouds of fog that regularly gather over the mountain city could offer a sustainable alternative, BBC reported.
“There is a lot of poverty, and many people have no direct access to clean water networks.”
Simple solution
Fog harvesting is a relatively simple process. Mesh panels are hung between poles, and as moisture-laden clouds pass through the mesh, water droplets form and are channelled into pipes and storage tanks.
The technique has been used on a small scale for decades in rural parts of South and Central America, as well as in Morocco, where one of the largest fog-harvesting systems operates on the edge of the Sahara Desert.
Dr Virginia Carter Gamberini of Universidad Mayor, who led the study, believes a “new era” of large-scale fog harvesting could provide a secure water supply in urban areas like Alto Hospicio.
Her team assessed water production rates using mesh panels and combined this with satellite data on cloud formation and weather forecasts. The findings, published in Frontiers of Environmental Science, show that the fog clouds forming over the Pacific Ocean and blowing across Alto Hospicio’s coastal mountains could sustainably supply the city’s slums with drinking water.
Numbers paint positive picture
The researchers calculated that:
17,000 square meters of mesh could generate enough water to meet the weekly demand of 300,000 litres currently delivered by truck to the city’s poorest neighbourhoods.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts110 square meters of mesh could cover the annual irrigation needs of the city’s green spaces.
Fog water could also support soil-free hydroponic agriculture, producing between 33 and 44 pounds (15–20 kilograms) of green vegetables per month.
“Chile is very special for its sea fog because we have the ocean along the whole country and we have the mountains,” Dr. Gamberini said.
Her team is now working on a national “fog harvesting map” to identify areas best suited for large-scale deployment of the technology.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
