Turning Fog Into Fresh Water: Scientists Pioneer Technology to Fight Scarcity in the World’s Driest Regions

Water scarcity is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. With climate change driving rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and shrinking freshwater supplies, billions of people are increasingly at risk. According to the United Nations, more than 2.3 billion people already live under water stress, and that number is expected to rise sharply in the coming decades. Communities in arid and semi-arid regions are among the most vulnerable, where entire populations depend on limited groundwater reserves and costly water deliveries.

But researchers in Chile may have found an unconventional solution to this growing crisis: harvesting fog. In a recent study carried out in the Atacama Desert, often considered the driest nonpolar desert on Earth, scientists successfully turned fog into usable freshwater with promising results. Their work highlights the potential of fog-collecting technology as a sustainable supplement to traditional water sources, particularly in regions most threatened by water shortages.

The Atacama Desert: A Harsh Landscape in Need of Solutions

Stretching along northern Chile, the Atacama Desert receives less than one millimeter of rainfall each year. The region’s arid climate is shaped by its location, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. While the desert looks barren today, it is home to fast-growing urban settlements like Alto Hospicio, where the water crisis is a daily reality.

Most residents rely on aquifers for their supply, but these underground rock formations were last replenished between 10,000 and 17,000 years ago. They represent a dwindling resource that cannot meet the growing demand of urbanization. In Alto Hospicio alone, nearly 10,000 residents live in informal settlements. Shockingly, only 1.6 percent have access to running water. The vast majority depend on water truck deliveries, which are costly, unreliable, and insufficient to meet basic needs.

This backdrop makes the potential of fog harvesting particularly striking.




How Fog Harvesting Works

Fog collectors are deceptively simple. They typically consist of a fine mesh stretched vertically between two posts. As fog rolls through, microscopic water droplets in the mist condense on the mesh and accumulate. Once the droplets merge and grow heavy enough, they trickle downward into a gutter and are directed into storage tanks.

The system requires no electricity or fuel. It is passive, low-cost, and renewable. This makes it especially appealing in remote areas where infrastructure is limited and energy resources are scarce.

In their year-long study, Chilean scientists deployed fog collectors in the high-altitude areas surrounding Alto Hospicio. Across a 100-square-kilometer zone, they were able to collect between 0.2 and 5 liters of water per square meter each day. During peak months—August and September—the collection rate soared to 10 liters per square meter per day, showing just how productive the system can be under optimal conditions.

From Rural to Urban Water Supplies

Until now, fog harvesting has been seen as a niche or rural practice, suitable for small villages but not for cities. The new research challenges this perception.

“This research represents a notable shift in the perception of fog water use—from a rural, rather small-scale solution to a practical water resource for cities,” said Virginia Carter Gamberini, assistant professor at Universidad Mayor and co-author of the study. “Our findings demonstrate that fog can serve as a complementary urban water supply in drylands where climate change exacerbates water shortages.”

The numbers speak to the scale of possibility. Researchers estimate that a 17,000-square-meter fog collector installation could generate enough water to provide 300,000 liters per week, meeting the needs of slum communities in Alto Hospicio. For cities under severe water stress, this represents a potentially transformative development.

The Promise and the Limits

As promising as fog harvesting appears, scientists are careful to stress that it is not a standalone solution. The technology cannot replace aquifers, desalination plants, or traditional water systems. Instead, it should be seen as one piece of a broader strategy for urban water management.

Significant infrastructure would be required to make fog water available on a citywide scale. Collection systems must be paired with storage tanks, treatment facilities, and distribution networks. Moreover, fog harvesting is heavily dependent on geography and climate. While highly effective in the elevated coastal regions of the Atacama, it may not be practical in areas with less frequent or less dense fog.

Still, as a supplemental source, fog water holds real promise. It could reduce dependence on unsustainable groundwater reserves, provide affordable alternatives to costly trucked-in water, and even support urban agriculture and green space development in places where every drop matters.




A Broader Global Implication

Though the study focused on Chile, the implications are global. Fog harvesting could be deployed in other fog-rich but water-poor regions, such as parts of North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and coastal Peru. In some cases, small-scale fog collectors have already been tested with encouraging results.

As climate change intensifies, demand for unconventional water sources will grow. Harvesting fog could become a practical adaptation tool in regions where conventional water systems are failing. And unlike energy-intensive technologies like desalination, fog collectors are environmentally friendly and require little maintenance once installed.

The Atacama study also underscores the need to rethink traditional assumptions about water. What was once considered an untapped or impractical source is now proving viable when paired with scientific research and technological refinement.

Community Impact

Perhaps most important, fog harvesting has the potential to change daily life for people living under water stress. In Alto Hospicio’s informal settlements, water scarcity not only undermines health and hygiene but also limits education, work, and economic opportunity. For families who spend a large share of their income on trucked water, a stable, affordable alternative could free resources for other needs.

Fog collectors could also bring psychological relief. The knowledge that water is being captured sustainably from the surrounding environment, rather than depleted from ancient aquifers, offers a sense of resilience and hope in the face of climate change.

Looking Ahead

The Chilean research marks an important milestone, but it is only the beginning. Scaling up fog harvesting will require investment, community engagement, and long-term policy support. Urban planners and governments will need to integrate fog water into broader management systems, ensuring it complements—not replaces—other critical sources.

As researchers refine mesh materials, optimize placement, and design cost-effective infrastructure, efficiency is likely to improve. Future studies could also explore hybrid systems that combine fog harvesting with rainwater collection, desalination, or wastewater recycling, creating a more diversified water portfolio.

Conclusion

The discovery that fog can be transformed into a reliable freshwater source for cities may sound like science fiction, but it is rapidly becoming science fact. The work in the Atacama Desert demonstrates that even in one of the harshest environments on Earth, innovation and persistence can unlock new pathways for survival.

While fog harvesting is not a cure-all for the global water crisis, it represents an important step toward resilience. In a world where billions are living under water stress, every drop counts—and sometimes, those drops are already floating in the air, waiting to be caught.

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