Video spoilers history, starting with the blitzkrieg on Poland

A new sky appeared.

The picture shows a world map, and it gradually focuses on the Middle East.

[If you were asked to imagine a country without rivers, what would you think of? ]

【Drought, barrenness, no grass growing?】

The first question asked by Tianmu.

The ancients also had an easy answer.

Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, said with certainty:

"A country without even a river? This is a desert, no one's land, right?"

"The Xiongnu and the Turks both know how to live near water and grass!"

“The fate of a country without rivers is clear.”

"That's the same as Loulan."

"Didn't Loulan, a once-glorious commercial city, perish because of the river's change of course?"

“What if there is a country in the future that doesn’t even have a river?”

"Then it is basically certain that it is a poor tribal country, perhaps even worse than the Xiongnu back then!"

……

Canopy.

【However, there is such a country——Saudi Arabia. 】

[This desert kingdom of 225 million square kilometers is almost completely covered by desert. ]

[Annual precipitation is less than 200 mm, only one-tenth of the global average. ]

【There is not a single natural river in the territory.】

[But in just three decades, the population doubled from 1800 million to 3600 million. ]

[Even the per capita water consumption is as high as the third in the world, twice that of the Chinese! ]

[On the map of the earth, Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula, and its vast 225 million square kilometers of land is a desert yellow. ]

[So, how did Saudi Arabia solve the water problem and create a miracle of survival in the desert? ]

【Today, let’s take a deeper look. 】

[Saudi Arabia's geographical location and climatic conditions determine its extreme scarcity of water resources. ]

[This area is controlled by the subtropical high pressure belt all year round, 95% of the land is desert, and the summer temperature easily exceeds 50℃. ]

【Prevailing downward air currents, little precipitation. 】

[Evaporation far exceeds precipitation.]

[In addition, the vast desert landscape, the small specific heat capacity of sand, and the rapid heating and cooling further exacerbate the evaporation of water.]

[Not only that, Saudi Arabia also has very few lakes. ]

[The only lake in the country that can be called a "lake" is a small body of water formed by the natural springs of the Al-Hassa Oasis in the east.]

【The area is less than 20 square kilometers. 】

[In ancient times, people in the Saudi region could only rely on sporadic groundwater and oases to survive. ]

[Tribes even fought over a well.]

[But today, Saudi Arabia is not short of water, but rather uses water lavishly, with an average daily water consumption of 271 liters per person, far exceeding the global average.]

So, where did their water come from?

[In such a harsh environment, Saudi Arabia's per capita renewable water resources are only 78 cubic meters per year. ]

[This is far below the "water stress line" of 1000 cubic meters per year set by the United Nations. ]

[It’s even less than half the average in the Middle East.]

[It has firmly fallen into the ranks of countries with “extreme water shortage”. ]

[But Saudi Arabia faces more challenges than this. With population growth and economic development, water demand continues to rise. ]

[In 2023, Saudi Arabia's total water consumption will reach 240 billion cubic meters. ]

[Among them, agricultural water use accounts for as high as 88%, far exceeding the world average. ]

[On one hand, there is extremely scarce water resources, and on the other hand, there is a growing demand for water. How should Saudi Arabia deal with this seemingly irreconcilable contradiction? 】

【First is groundwater. 】

【There is an amazing secret hidden underground in Saudi Arabia. 】

[That’s 36 trillion cubic meters of “fossil water”! ]

[This is rainwater that seeped into the ground tens of thousands of years ago and was sealed in ancient aquifers.]

[There are seven major underground aquifers in Saudi Arabia, with a total reserve of about 5000 billion cubic meters. ]

[Among them, the largest aquifer of the Sark water body spans central and eastern Saudi Arabia, covering an area of ​​about 37 square kilometers. ]

【The water storage capacity exceeds 3000 billion cubic meters. 】

【These groundwater resources have been used since ancient times. 】

【It has become an important source of water for Saudi Arabia's agriculture and some cities.】

……

Outside the sky.

tomorrow.

Xu Xiake showed an expression of "I see, I understand." "No wonder Saudi Arabia, which is located in a desert and has no rivers, can support tens of millions of people."

"Groundwater can really solve urgent problems."

"In Daming, for example, many villages don't have rivers running through them, and the entire village actually relies on groundwater wells for water."

"Groundwater can indeed feed a city..."

"but……"

“Can groundwater alone feed a country with tens of millions of people?”

"Even in places where water is not scarce, wells can dry up due to long-term use."

"Isn't it possible that groundwater in desert areas like Saudi Arabia is even less durable?"

"Could it be that the groundwater over there is also inexhaustible?"

"It won't last long if we only rely on groundwater, right?"

"The Saudis are not stupid. They must have other ways to solve the water problem."

The sky screen continued to play.

This also confirms the concerns of Xu Xiake, a geography expert.

[In the 70s, the Saudi government frantically dug wells and pumped up these prehistoric treasures to develop agriculture, which once allowed wheat fields to grow in the desert.]

[But the problem is that these fossil water resources were formed in ancient times. ]

[Difficult to replenish naturally.]

[Data shows that Saudi Arabia extracts about 150 billion cubic meters of water from underground every year. ]

[The natural recharge is only 36 billion cubic meters, which causes the groundwater level to drop at an average rate of about 1 meter per year.]

[In Tabuk, for example, the water table has dropped by about 30 meters in the past 200 years.]

【Local farmers have to install water pumps deeper and deeper.】

If extraction continues at the current rate, Saudi Arabia's groundwater resources may be at risk of depletion within the next 50 years.

[Therefore, over-reliance on groundwater resources is obviously not a long-term solution. ]

[Since groundwater is unsustainable, the Saudis are eyeing the nearby Red Sea and Persian Gulf. ]

[Seawater is inexhaustible! ]

[Since there is a shortage of water on land, let’s ask the sea for water! ]

【With the advancement of science and technology and the strengthening of national financial resources, Saudi Arabia has vigorously developed the seawater desalination industry. 】

[By the end of 2023, Saudi Arabia has built 33 large-scale seawater desalination plants with an annual freshwater production capacity of 23 billion cubic meters, accounting for about 60% of the country's total water supply. ]

[Take the Shuaiba desalination plant in Jeddah as an example. This is the world's largest desalination plant, which produces 125 million cubic meters of fresh water per day. ]

[Through a 1400-kilometer pipeline network, this hard-earned fresh water is transported to inland cities to meet the daily water needs of local residents.]

[Saudi Arabia has also become the world's largest desalination country, with a production capacity accounting for 22% of the global total. ]

[Today, more than 80% of drinking water for residents in the capital Riyadh and the economic center Jeddah comes from desalinated seawater. ]

[But desalination is a very expensive business.]

[It takes 1 kWh of electricity to desalinate 2.27 ton of water. ]

【Energy costs account for more than 60% of total costs.】

[This means that Saudi Arabia needs to consume about 1.5 million barrels of oil each year to support seawater desalination. ]

[Fortunately, what Saudi Arabia lacks the least is oil and natural gas. They directly exchange energy for fresh water, which can be called "exchanging oil for water"]

[In addition, the high-concentration salt water discharged during the desalination process also has a certain impact on the marine ecosystem. ]

[Salinity in some areas along the Red Sea coast is already nearly 8% above natural levels, posing a threat to coral reefs and fish habitats.]

[But even so, under the current circumstances, seawater desalination is still one of the key means for Saudi Arabia to solve its water problem. ]

[Except for groundwater and seawater desalination. ]

[There is another trick, which is even simpler, more brutal and direct. ]

【That means buying water. 】

[Most of the countries surrounding Saudi Arabia are also short of water.]

【Saudi Arabia then bought water from Europe.】

[Saudi Arabia imports drinking water from Europe, and domestic bottled water is basically imported. ]

[Saudi Arabia even considered towing icebergs back to the country from Antarctica... although it was not implemented in the end.]

[Even though I traveled thousands of miles to buy water back home. 】

[The price is relatively high. ]

【But Saudi Arabia is not short of money. 】

[After all, this country has the second largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest export volume in the world.]

[Gold reserves continue to break records.]

[For Saudi Arabia's wealthy, problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all. ]

[The above three main ways can be regarded as solving Saudi Arabia’s water source. 】

[But as you can see, it comes at a high price.]

【Overall, Saudi Arabia is indeed a water-scarce country. 】

[It’s just that Saudi Arabia has the ability to solve the problem. ] (End of this chapter)