A new study has found that the planet has tolerated the loss of freshwater in the last two decades due to the joint effects of climate change, overlapping and drought.
According to the study, each year in published land areas is being expanded to almost double the size of California, according to the study, published.Science progressDry spots are now dry rapidly, getting wet compared to wet areas – according to research, reverse historical hydrological patterns.
The continental scale of “mega-dry”, study authors warned, can have serious consequences on water security, agriculture, increase in sea levels and global stability. Describing their results as “shocking”, researchers determined that 75 percent of the world’s population lives in 101 countries which have been losing freshwater for the last 22 years.
“These conclusions send the most dangerous messages about the impact of climate change on our water resources,” Principal investigator Je Femelytti, a professor at the School of Sustainability, Erizona State University, sends the most dangerous messages yet. “
“The continents are drying up, the availability of freshwater is shrinking, and the increase in sea levels is accelerating,” said Famiglity.
To evaluate changes in terrestrial water storage, the researchers combined over two decades of combing the combustion of the comb of April 2002 to April 2024-from the gravitational recovery and climate experiment (Grace) and Grace follow-on missions.
They defined terrestrial water storage as the earth’s surface and vegetable water, soil moisture, ice, ice and groundwater stored on the ground.
Eventually, researchers identified strong changes in these water storage levels since previous global studies.
These declines found, high-standing in Russia and Canada is inspired by water loss, extreme and groundwater deficiency in Central America and Europe is responsible for 68 percent losses.
Researchers also identified a “tipping point” in 2014-2015, which usually portray meteorologists as “mega al-nino”. In North America, L-Nino years typically include dryness and heat in North America and Canada, which increases the floods in the south.
Near the tipping point, climate began to accelerate the extreme speed, leading to the use of groundwater and continental drying, which according to the study crossed the melting rates of glacier and ice.
Evaluation of its 22 years of data, scientists also determined that some water storage loss “hotspot” was first considered that it was actually interconnected. At these places, he concluded, four contrantal-scales, mega-dry areas.
The first region extends to the US southwest, Mexico and Central America and includes several major food producing areas. Meanwhile, the second, Alaska and Northern Canada are included, which are stricken by ice and permafrost melt, as well as drying up in agricultural areas.
Northern Russia, according to the study, is the third region and is also undergoing considerable ice and permafrost melting in high latitude areas.
The fourth region, the Middle East-East Africa region and PAN-Jaisia, in many major desert cities, food producing hubs, shrinking seas and urban cities, researchers said.
Hrishikesh Chandanpurkar, a research scientist at Arizona State, said in a statement, “It is striking how much non-renewable water we are losing.”
“Glacier and deep groundwater are like ancient trust funds,” he said. “Instead of using them only as needed as long as needed, we are taking them.”
Chandanpurkar also paid attention to the fact that humans are failing to recur groundwater reservoirs during wet years and thus “bankruptcy of adjacent freshwater”.
Describing their findings as “a planet wake-up call”, authors emphasized the need for ongoing research that can help policy makers to inform about these serious water challenges.
Researchers also advocated community level opportunities, which to make meaningful changes, especially when it comes to excessive pumping of groundwater.
The results of eliminating the remaining groundwater, female warns, “food and water security for billions of people around the world”.
“This is a ‘all-hand-on-deck’ moment-we need immediate action on global water security,” he said.
