Rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will also exacerbate water supply issues in destinations that are already prone to drought. Due to their limited freshwater resources, small islands are especially vulnerable to water scarcity challenges and are already being affected.
In many Caribbean islands, water shortages are now a way of life with in most areas availability of less than 600 cubic meters of freshwater resources per capita. To put this into perspective, annual freshwater use in the United States is more than 1,500 cubic meters per capita. As climate change continues, these freshwater supplies will only become more precious. This could lead to conflict with local communities as the tourism industry consumes a substantial amount of this water.