Solar-driven atmospheric water yields under climate stress: A 23-year global data analysis

Abstract Access to clean water is a fundamental human right, yet over two billion people face water scarcity–a crisis intensified by population growth and climate change. This study presents a data-driven analysis of atmospheric water yields at 30 globally distributed locations under varying climate stress. Using hourly ERA5 data from 2000 to 2022, we quantified the monthly average daily water extraction potential of solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) systems. Statistically significant changes in AWH performance ( $$p < 0.05$$ ) were found at 25 locations, affecting 61 of 360 location-month combinations (17%), with trends ranging from –65% to +55% relative to the 23-year average. Seasonal fluctuations were only slightly surpassed by long-term trends in three cases. No strong correlation with climate zones was found, but seasonal effects were evident, with a predominance of negative trends around mid-year and positive trends around the turn of the year. Correlation and sensitivity analyses identified relative humidity as the primary driver of AWH efficiency, while solar radiation and air temperature played secondary roles. AWH systems yielded between 650 and 13,070 ml m $$^{-2}$$ day $$^{-1}$$ across sites. These findings highlight AWH as a robust, scalable, and climate-resilient solution to support SDG 6 in water-stressed regions.