| Aspect | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Water on Earth | 71% of Earth’s surface is covered in water. | |
| Saltwater (Oceans) | 97.5% of Earth’s water is saltwater. | |
| Freshwater | 2.5% of Earth’s water is freshwater. | |
| Freshwater Distribution | – Rivers: 0.3% – Lakes: 0.3% – Groundwater: 30.1% (of freshwater) – Glaciers and Ice: Varies |
|
| Rainfall Distribution by Continent | – Asia: 32.7% – Africa: 18.9% – North America: 15.3% – Others: Less |
|
 | Water Use | Drinking, Agriculture, Industry, Hydropower, Recreation, Ecosystem Support |
 | Depletion Concerns | Over-extraction, pollution, climate change, urbanization stress water resources |
How Many Percentage of Water in Earth?, Water takes up roughly 71% of the Earth’s surface. Of this, only around 2.5% is freshwater, and the rest is saline; this makes conserving this valuable resource all the more important.
1.Percentage of Water on Earth
| Water Source | Percentage (%) |
| Oceans | 97.5 |
| Seas | 2.5 |
| Rivers | 0.3 |
| Lakes | 0.3 |
| Ponds | 0.009 |
| Other Water Bodies | 0.001 |
2.Distribution of Water Beneath the Earth’s Surface
A significant amount of water is present beneath the Earth’s surface, mainly in the form of groundwater. The exact percentage varies, but it is estimated that about 30.1% of the Earth’s freshwater is stored underground.
3.Percentage of Rainfall in Various Continents
| Continent | Percentage of Global Rainfall |
| Asia | 32.7% |
| Africa | 18.9% |
| North America | 15.3% |
| South America | 13.3% |
| Europe | 7.4% |
| Australia | 5.3% |
| Antarctica | 0.1% |
4.Uses of Available Water on Earth
- Drinking and domestic use
- Agriculture
- Industry
- Hydropower generation
- Recreation and tourism
- Ecosystem support
5.Depletion of Water on Earth
- Excessive extraction of water from rivers lakes, aquifers, and other sources for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes bring about strain on the available supplies of water.
- For example, water extracted for agriculture purposes in Maharashtra, has brought about dependency on rivers, lakes, wells, dams etc.
- The rivers are over dependent, in Maharashtra, on the rains that occurs in monsoon seasons.
- There are shortages of water in Marathwada regions of Maharashtra, India, as the water supplies are overly dependent on the rainfall in these areas.
- Inadequate rainfall in these areas has lead to droughts in Maharashtra, as Marathwada region is excessively dependent on rains for its water bodies to be supplied with adequate water.
- The Marathwada region is excessively dependent on the dams to be supplied with adequate water for the regions in these regions. The water supply for the whole year is excessively dependent on these dams.
- With the population increasing, the need for industries in these regions has increased. So the pollution caused by industrial discharges, agricultural runoff and untreated sewage contaminates water bodies.
- The polluted water in these regions, has affected the human health and ecosystem.
- Climate change, like rising temperatures have not only brought about frequent droughts, but also many a times there are excessive, untimely rains occurring during winter seasons as well, which has affected the crops in the fields.
- There has been a huge population which has migrated to the urban areas. The rising urbanization has increased the demand for water supply in the cities, and has intensified pressure in the cities for water supplies.
- Metropolitan cities require more water supplies for their residents, industries and their sanitation systems as they are becoming more and more crowded.
6.Recommended Irrigation Facilities in Maharashtra
- Drip irrigation systems
- Sprinkler irrigation systems
- Canal irrigation
- Watershed management programs
7.Percentage of Water Bodies on the Earth’s Surface
| Aspect | Percentage (%) |
| Total Earth’s surface covered in water | 71 |
| Percentage of saltwater in oceans | 97.5 |
| Percentage of freshwater on Earth | 2.5 |
| Breakdown of freshwater distribution: | |
| -Rivers | 0.3 |
| -Lakes | 0.3 |
| -Underground sources (groundwater) | Varies |
| Fraction of freshwater readily available | Limited |
| -Trapped in glaciers | Varies |
| -Frozen in the ground | Varies |
| -Available for human consumption | Limited |
8.Future Projects in Maharashtra
Several initiatives are being considered to enhance water availability through artificial rain in Maharashtra. These projects aim to improve water resources and mitigate the impact of water scarcity on agriculture.
- The Wainganga-Nalganga rivers connection project in Maharashtra has been given a green signal for the beneficiaries of the farmers of the a major Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, to benefit, Buldhana, Akola, Amaravati, Yavatmal, Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara. The project after completion will have a huge impact in this region, providing water assistance to the drought affected residents.
- The regions of Aurangabad, Jalna, Jalgaon and proximate villages of these regions to get drip irrigation facilities for sugarcane cultivators. As Sugarcane has been a major product to be produced in Maharashtra historically, since long, this project is going to benefit sugarcane farmers.
9.Percentage of drinking water on earth
- Only about 0.007% of all water on earth is readily available and drinkable. The majority of Earth’s water is either saltwater or locked in glaciers and ice caps. drinkable water is decreasing, and it is depleted due to overuse, pollution and climate change.
- This will make most parts of the world experience a critical shortage of fresh water sooner. In India, there has been a rise in urbanization and population migration from the villages to the metropolitan cities. metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Surat have great water supplies in homes as compared to other villages of states, that contain these cities.
- Living in water sufficient city is a blessing in India. The rainfall in these Indian Coastal Metropolitan cities is adequate, which helps water supplies. Hence has resulted in rapid economic development.
- The rising pollution due to industrialization, urbanization, and transportation, has resulted in appropriate, unseasonal, and irregular rainfall in the Indian States. Over rainfall has resulted in floods, which have vanished farms and houses in many areas in States of India. The rainfall-related problems have increased in Indian News, since the last 15 years. Hence, Water has become a precious entity for Indians.
- Bisleri is one of the most prominent bottled water brands in India. Water is subjected to 10 stages of purification and meets all quality standards. This is Safe, Pure, and Hygienic water. Consumption of water from plastic bottles is likely to affect health because it has microplastics and chemical substances that migrate to water.
- In the long run, one is supposed to experience hormonal imbalances, and liver and breast cancer, among other diseases. Using Water purifiers is a great habit. RO purifiers remove bacteria from tap water. Boiled water is the best to be used. Aged and unwell individuals suffering from diseases like Malaria, Typhoid, Dengue, etc should have an intake of boiled water.
- In today’s complex standards of living, sanitary water drinking habits make a huge difference to individual health.
10.Artificial Intelligence(Cloud seeding)
| Definition | By introducing substances into the air to serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, cloud seeding seeks to influence precipitation and alter microphysical processes within clouds. |
| Objective | The primary goal of cloud seeding is to modify the amount or type of precipitation, with the usual objectives being to increase rainfall or snowfall. It can also be used to prevent precipitation on specific days following the seeding. |
| Method | Cloud seeding involves dispersing substances into the air, such as silver iodide or potassium iodide, to act as cloud condensation or ice nuclei. These substances encourage the formation of water droplets or ice crystals, enhancing precipitation. |
| Example | Cloud Seeding experiment over Maharashtra, Solapur results in 18% more rainfall |
