Many places in the world have little rain. It is a challenge for people to get water. Scientists in Chile want to help the driest towns and cities in the world. They say harvesting water from fog could provide drinking water to millions of people. The researchers have been studying how fog harvesting can collect water. It is a simple process. Water from fog is collected on large mesh screens. When fog passes through the screens, drops of water stick to the mesh. This water drips into storage tanks below. This is a cheap and easy way of collecting water in dry areas.

The researchers are from a university in the capital city Santiago. They tested fog harvesting in the desert town of Alto Hospicio, which gets less than 5 mm of rainfall a year. Many people there get their drinking water delivered by truck. A researcher said fog harvesting could bring a "new era" to the town. People will think more about the uses of fog. She said it could be a "practical water resource for cities". She said "water from the clouds" could protect cities from climate change. She added that fog harvesting could also improve access to clean water.