Where is the majority of Earth's fresh water found?

The majority of Earth's fresh water is found in glaciers and ice sheets. This is significant because it accounts for about 68.7% of all fresh water on the planet. These large, frozen reservoirs are predominantly located in polar regions, such as Antarctica and Greenland, where temperatures allow for the accumulation and preservation of ice.

Glaciers and ice sheets provide a crucial source of fresh water, especially in regions that rely on melting ice for their water supply during warmer months. Understanding this distribution is important in the context of climate change, as melting ice due to rising global temperatures can significantly impact fresh water availability, sea levels, and ecosystems.

In contrast, while groundwater ranks as the largest source of accessible fresh water for human use, it constitutes about 30.1% of fresh water. Rivers and lakes hold only a small fraction, around 0.3%, while the atmosphere contains an even tinier amount. This highlights the relative abundance of fresh water locked in glacial formations compared to other sources.