Dew, fog, drizzle and rain water in Baku (Azerbaijan)

- One year (1/4/2010;-31/3/2011) measurement of dew, fog, drizzle, rain at Baku
- Dew, fog, drizzle are supplementary source of water in semi-arid Baku environment
- Dew, fog, drizzle supplement rain water in Baku semi-arid environment by 20-60 %

Dwindling supplies of fresh water and climate changes have drawn attention to the need to find alternative sources of water globally. This study examines the potential of the semi-arid region of Baku (Azerbaijan) to exploit in particular dew, but also fog, drizzle and rain water. The Absheron Peninsular suffers from scarceness of water and non-hazardous water sources. Measurements were taken in this region on a 30° inclined plane passive condenser over a year (1/4/2010-31/3/2011) to determine the contribution and validity of using these alternative sources of water. The results show a significant relative contribution from these sources during this period (rain: 84 mm; dew: 15 mm; fog: 6 mm; drizzle: 13 mm). The fact that rain was measured within 23 km from the main station leads to uncertainties in its relative contribution. However, at least for the year under study, there are fair indications that collecting dew, fog and drizzle in addition to rain can significantly increase the collected atmospheric water with value estimated on order 40% ± 20%.