Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
On the planet Earth, the fresh water available for use amounts to about less than 1% of the total water found.
Of the total fresh water found on the planet Earth, 95% is bound up in polar ice caps and glaciers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Only about 2.5% of Earth’s total water is freshwater.
Approximately 68.7% of the total freshwater is stored in ice caps, glaciers and permanent snow. It constitutes about 1.74% of Earth’s total water.
Fresh groundwater constitutes approximately 0.76% of Earth’s total water, while the quantity present in rivers and freshwater lakes is extremely small. Therefore, the non-frozen freshwater available for use constitutes less than 1% of the total water. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
Statement 2 claims that 95% of freshwater is stored in ice caps and glaciers, whereas the actual proportion is approximately 68.7%. Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect.