Over half of the lakes and reservoirs in the world are facing “significant” water decline. The study showed that climate change and human consumption over the past three decades are the main reasons.
Researchers analyzed some of the largest global lakes using satellite observations, climate data and hydrologic models and found that 53% of these water bodies faced a decline in water storage levels from 1992 to 2020.
It’s a big deal
Every year witnessed a global decline of 19 to 24 gigatons of water. Just for comparison, that’s almost the amount of water the entire US uses in a year.
Water insecurity is a growing issue. According to the study, published in Science journal, around 2 billion people in the world live in the basin of a drying lake, whereas hundreds of millions don’t get access to reliable and safe water.
The drought-stricken Colorado is already under duress as water levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the largest and the second largest reservoirs in the country, drop to historic levels.