Why Is Water Essential For Life?

Water is essential for humans and all other organisms. We can get by much longer without solid food than without drinks. But is it the only reason why water is essential for life. Here, we have listed the role of water in our life. 

Water is the raw material of life. Every organism consists of a certain percentage of water. All of us need water to survive, which is more than enough a reason, why is water essential for life. Life comes from water, more precisely, from seawater. In the primeval oceans, small organic molecules formed the complex compounds that eventually gave birth to living organisms. Large biodiversity with many impressive living beings developed, from the first primitive life forms in the first 3 billion years. However, life was exclusively linked to water. And in a sense, life has never moved away from water, because all the vital processes in the cells take place in water.

What does our body need water for?

Our human body itself consists of 50 to 80 percent water. 1400 litres of water flow through the brain within 24 hours. In the case of the kidney, it is 2000 litres in the same period. The organs with the most water are blood, brain, liver and muscles. They are also particularly sensitive to water loss. Since the organism excretes 2.5 litres per day, this amount must be replaced. The body cannot use its own water reserves. So that the organism does not dry out and we can excrete all pollutants, an adult has to take in 2.5 litres of liquid every day. Since part of it is already supplied via food and the breakdown of food, it should be at least 1.5 litres of additional liquid a day. This makes us much more efficient and enables us to concentrate better.

Water regulates cardiovascular function and digestion, is a solvent for salts and minerals, a means of transport for nutrients and breakdown products. It is also of central importance for the heat regulation of the human body. Sweating, breathing and excretions normally cause about 2-3 litres of water to be lost in the course of a day. This loss has to be compensated for through food and especially through drinks because even the smallest changes in the water balance cause the body to react with serious disorders. This is the reason why water is essential for life.

What happens When are we thirsty?

A loss of fluid of around 0.5% creates a feeling of thirst, which becomes increasingly stronger as the body’s water content continues to decrease. At 2%, the physical and mental performance already decreases, with a decrease of 5% the body temperature rises. A water loss of 10% of the body weight causes serious illness symptoms such as blood thickening, circulatory failure and confusion. A deficit of more than 20% inevitably leads to death from kidney and circulatory failure. Without food, a person can survive about four weeks, depending on the fat reserves, but without water only a couple of days.

How do plants use water?

To understand why water is essential for life, we need to include all life into the bigger picture. As for humans and animals, water is also indispensable for plants. Water is the main component of the fluid in the cells, which in turn builds the tissues and organs of the plants. Water has a key role in photosynthesis. It is a solvent for the vital nutrients and also takes care of the transport.

The water with the minerals and salts dissolved in it is absorbed by the xylem, the leading tissue, and primarily transported to the leaves by the capillary forces. To a certain extent, the sun is the driving force. Through the stomata of the leaves and the effect of sunlight, a certain amount of water is lost through evaporation, and a perspiration suction is created on the xylem. Water rises continuously from the underground parts of the plant, like a blotting paper soaked in liquid.

Why do fish need water?

The fish would no longer get air without water and suffocate. Fish can absorb up to 90% of the oxygen dissolved in water with their gills. The water flows into the mouth, passes through the gill chambers and exits through the gill flaps. The flow is regulated by opening and closing the mouth. For deep-sea fish like sharks, it is sufficient to swim with your mouth open, but you have to keep moving.

Is drinking water running out?

From the point of view of nature, everything is fine because there is water in abundance on earth. However, the freshwater that is crucial for life on earth only accounts for less than 3% of global water reserves, but the available resources would be more than sufficient. However, due to the uneven distribution, the wasteful handling of people and pollution, there are many bottlenecks in water supply worldwide. The only solution to the water shortage issue is that Why Is Water Essential For Life has to be understood by international politics as an asset worth protecting.

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Mankind today uses 45 times as much water as 300 years ago. Worldwide, industries use 20% of the water, private consumers use 10%, and the vast majority that is 70% of water is used in agriculture. Half of the water is lost because farmers simply flood fields to irrigate them instead of supplying individual plants with the required amount of water. In order to use global water reserves sustainably, they need to be better managed. We need to understand Why Is Water Essential For Life because, according to a United Nations report, humanity will be threatened with an extinction-level event in the near future.