Will the world ever run out of its water supply?

Question

if so, how long will it take?

Answer 1

Well.... it can. It would take a earth shattering catastrophe to do so though. Example...The Greenhouse Effect. We have an atmosphere because there is water vapor and carbon dioxide in the air that serves sort of like a cover, to keep it from being too hot, and to keep in some heat that makes our world habitable. Which is usually not a big deal, we can handle the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, as can our atmosphere. But when the polar caps start to melt it would release more and more carbon dioxide into the air. Also we could release carbon dioxide that is trapped in sea sediments which could also release trillions of tons of methane trapped in the permafrost and bellow the oceans floor. And  so on and so on. So eventually what would happen is the water vapor kicks in, and while it keeps getting hotter oceans and rivers start to evaporate which would make the atmosphere denser and hotter, making the water evaporate faster and faster. Earth would turn into Venus which has an incredibly thick atmosphere and can reach 750 degrees Celcius. Now, all the surface water will be destroyed, but there might be some trapped some where. I wouldn't count on it though. But good news, by the time that happens we'll all probably be dead anyways. When the ice caps melt it would push the sea levels up snow caps would melt, millions would drown, or starve due to the flooding ravishing the crops. Also that amount of water would also cause a run away of disease so it would suck. So to make the answer simple, yes it can happen but most of us would already be dead or dying by the time it does. How long would it take is a harder question to answer. It depends really anywhere from a few years to decades. Science has already proved that we have started to jack up our atmosphere. How long is up to how well we take care of it.

Answer 2

Actually the amount of water on Earth is rather constant.  However, fresh potable water from sources like aquifers is being used up faster than it can be replaced.  So, yes it is possible that certain areas will run out of potable water.  In fact in certain places, like south Florida, the aquifers are being depleted to the point that saltwater is displacing the freshwater.

The Earth will never run out of water.  However, humans will.  Some places are already out.  The worlds dry regions continue to expand and human population continue to increase.  The problem will only get worse.  Unless human population growth stops.

Answer 3

No, never.  Even if we switched over to a hydrogen economy the combustion  byproduct is pure water (previous answerer got that wrong).

But we could run out of potable water.  In many areas it is already happening.  Southern California is constantly scratching around for new usable water.  Resort developments in Spain and Costa Rica are at the crisis stage now.  Huge sections of Africa and southeast Asia are being forced to use water that fails WHO health standards.

So, we will never run out of water in a general way but we are already falling short of drinkable water in many areas.  This problem is expected to get much worse very soon and long term planners expect to see a large number of small wars over it.

Answer 4

If we ever go to a hydrogen economy then yes.  Otherwise, no way to run out.