Weatherwatch: fog traps capture water in Atacama desert

A nanofiber mesh makes the traps more efficient and could help provide clean drinking water

Chile's Atacama desert is famously dry, with virtually no measurable rainfall. It is coastal though, with a sea breeze blowing inland. New technology could help draw precious water from the sea air.

Fog traps are mesh screens that capture droplets of fog; when enough water accumulates it runs down into a collector. Fog traps have been used on a small scale since the 1960s, with a square metre of mesh collecting enough drinking water for one person.