Final answer:
Approximately 68.7% of Earth's freshwater is in the polar ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow, while about 2.2% of Earth's total water is in frozen form in these regions.
Step-by-step explanation:
A significant amount of Earth's water is stored in polar ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. Specifically, about 68.7% of the Earth's freshwater reserves are located in these frozen forms. When considering Earth's total water supply, roughly 97% exists as saltwater in the oceans. In contrast, only about 2.2% of the Earth's water is in the form of frozen ice and snow in polar regions.
The vast coverage of water on Earth's surface is primarily saline, which highlights the scarcity of fresh, consumable water for human use. Given that less than 3% of the world's water is fresh, and the majority of that is locked away in ice caps, the actual availability of water for human consumption is significantly less, typically sourced from rivers, lakes, groundwater, and underground aquifers.