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Earth’s landmasses are drying.
As the climate warms, new data show huge swaths of land across the globe are quickly drying, threatening humanity’s supply of fresh water. 3/4 of humanity lives in nations where net groundwater is declining.
In many places, there is less precipitation, even as moisture evaporates from the soil faster everywhere. Earth is being slowly dehydrated by the unmitigated mining of groundwater, which underlies vast proportions of every continent.
In the far north, the detected loss is due largely to glaciers melting and sub-Arctic lakes drying. But farther south — where most people live — it is largely the race to suck groundwater from aquifers that is removing the water from the continents.
Many of the aquifers underlying almost half of Earth’s continents took millions of years to form and might take 1,000s of years to refill.
So far, groundwater loss is even a bigger factor in sea level rise than melting glaciers.
Uninhibited pumping of groundwater by farmers, cities and corporations around the world now accounts for 68% of the total loss of fresh water in lower latitudes.
Dramatic depletion of groundwater (for farming, etc.) and surface water between 2014 and 2024 has connected once-separate
arid places, forming “mega-drying” regions that stretch across whole
continents. One stretches from Central America through most of Mexico, up the US Great Plains to south central Canada. Another covers almost all of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, into Pakistan and northern India.
28 major cities in the US are sinking. So are Jakarta, Venice, Shanghai, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Lagos, Rotterdam, Bangkok, and Alexandria Egypt. Some of the world’s most productive farmland is sinking with them. So is California’s Central Valley, which grows the bulk of US fruit and vegetables.
This drying underlies a future later this century when most people have very little fresh water.
2020-2026 Articles
2020-2026 Articles
Lake Mead Hits Lowest Water Level on Record as Colorado River Drops More 0826.rtf
The Aral Sea Isn’t Just an Ecological Nightmare — It’s a Carbon Bomb 0726.rtf
Global Warming Unmakes Winter in the US West 0726.rtf
How Wildfire Smoke Kills 10s of 1,000s of People a Year, Attacking the Body 0728.rtf
More Snow Fallis as Rain in Washington, Increasing Drought in Key Farm Areas 0726.rtf
Human Warming Has Begun Era of Temperature-Dominated Droughts in US West 1124.rtf - Our observational analysis shows that, since around 2000, rising surface temperature and the resulting high evaporative demand have contributed more to drought severity (62%) and coverage (66%) over the western US than precipitation deficit. The unprecedented 2020–2022 western US drought exemplifies this shift in drought drivers. High evaporative demand accounted for 61% of its severity, compared to 39% from precipitation deficit.Climate Change, Rising Seas Threaten Southern Iran’s Food Security 0126.rtfAs Global Drought Deepens — Climate Change Kills by 1,000 Cuts 0526.rtfCalifornia’s Thin Snowpack Raises Summer Water Risks 0326.rtfHeat Waves that Spark Damaging Droughts Are Happening More Often 0326.rtfWater, Power, and the Future of Conflict 0226.rtfHalf the World’s 100 Largest Cities Are in High Water Stress Areas 0126.rtfThe Era of Water ‘Bankruptcy’ 0126.rtf - Many of the world’s water systems have entered a state of irreversible decline, a new report from the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warns. Institute Director Kaveh Madani warns that much of the planet is facing “water bankruptcy” — a condition marked by ecological insolvency, where water is overdrawn or polluted beyond recovery, and irreversible damage to natural systems like lakes and wetlands. More than half of large lakes have declined since the 1990s and 35% of wetlands have been lost since 1970. Nearly 3/4 of the global population now lives in water-insecure countries, and drought impacts cost an estimated US$307 billion annually. UN News‘No Water, No Life’- Iraq’s Tigris River in Danger of Disappearing 1225.rtf - Iraq's rivers are drying up, partly climate and partly stacking up behind new dams in Turkey. What water remains concentrates various pollution from Iraq. Piped water is scarce in Iraq and people are hospitalized from pollution.Drying-Up Rio Grande Basin Threatens Water Security on Both Sides of Border 1125.rtfMore Deforestation Leads to Drier Dry Season in Amazon Basin 0925.rtfThe Drying Planet 0825.rtfEarth’s Soil Is Drying Up. It Could Be Irreversible. 0325.rtfGlacier Meltdown Risks Food and Water Supply of 2 Billion People - UN 0325.rtfNearly 30 Million Americans Face Limited Water Supplies 0125.rtf‘Virtually Any City on Earth Can Burn Now’ 0125.rtfFire-Whipping Los Angeles Winds Are at the Heart of a Climate Riddle 0125.rtfCanadian Forests Becoming More Prone to Severe Wildfires 0125.rtf3:4 of Earth’s Land Got Drier in Recent Decades - UN 1224.rtfDrought Is Causing Saltwater to Creep up the Delaware River 1124.rtfWhy Future Droughts Will Not Be about Rain 1124.rtfClick for moreWorsened by Rising Temperatures, Water Challenges Threaten World’s Crops 1024.rtfSystem That Moves Water around Earth Is Off Balance for 1st Time in Our History 1024.rtfClimate Warning as World’s Rivers Dry Up at Fastest Rate for 30 Years 1024.rtfThe Power Outage & Heat Disaster That No Major U.S. City Is Prepared for 0924.rtf‘The Land Is Becoming Desert’ - Drought Pushes Sicily’s Farming to the Brink 0824.rtf‘We Can’t Let the Animals Die’ - Deserts Come to Sicily Farmers 0724.rtf - Sicily is becoming like Libya and Tunisia.In Northeast Brazil, etc., Small Farmers on Exhausted Lands Face Desertification 0624.rtfMexico City Has Long Thirsted for Water. The Crisis Is Worsening. 0524.rtfPeru Has Lost More than Half Its Water Reserves, as Glaciers Melt Rapidly 1123.rtfAmazon Deforestation Linked to West Antarctic Melt and Less Snowfall in Tibet 1023.rtfAmerica Is Using Up Its Groundwater like There’s No Tomorrow 0823.rtfHere’s Where Water Is Running Out in the World — and Why 0823.rtfExtreme Water Stress Faced by Countries Home to 1:4 of World Population 0823.rtfA Climate Warning from the Cradle of Civilization 0723.rtfClimate Inferno Threatens to Turn Athens Into Outpost of Sahara 0723.rtfShrinking Inland Seas Expose Salty Particulates and More 0623.rtfDrought Is on the Verge of Becoming the Next Pandemic 0623.rtfDay Zero for Water Threatens Uruguay’s Capital 0623.rtfA Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River from Going Dry, for Now 0523.rtfWater Theft Proves Lucrative in a Dangerously Dry World 0423.rtfAs Earth Warms, More ‘Flash Droughts’ Suck Soil, Plants Dry 0423.rtfGlobal Fresh Water Demand Will Outstrip Supply by 40% by 2030 - 0323.rtfWhy the Badly Needed Rains in California Could Fuel Catastrophic Fires 0223.rtfWet Winter Won’t Fix Colorado River Woes 0223.rtfCrisis on the Rio Grande 0123.rtf - cracked mud riverbed all the way downstream to Albuquerque, the river's 2nd largest city and largest in New MexicoAfter Comeback, Southern Iraq’s Marshes Are Now Drying Up 0123.rtfGreat Salt Lake Will Disappear in 5 Years without Massive ‘Emergency Rescue’ 0123.rtfFear ‘Complete Doomsday Scenario’ for Drought-Stricken Colorado River 1222.rtfOver 600 Million Africans at Risk of Severe Droughts due to Climate Change 0922.rtfCould the Drying Up of Europe’s Great Rivers Be the New Normal? 0922.rtfDrifting Toward Disaster - the (2nd) Rio Grande 0922.rtfThe Heat Wave Crushing the West Previews Farmworkers’ Hot Future 0922.rtfThe World’s Rivers, Canals, and Reservoirs Are Turning to Dust 0822.rtfChina Drought Causes Yangtze to Dry Up, Sparking Hydropower Shortage 0822.rtfWater Resources to Become Less Predictable with Climate Change 0722.rtfHow the Dust Bowl 90 Years Ago Prophesied Our Climate-Ravaged Future 0622.rtfThe Vanishing Rio Grande – Warming Takes Its Toll 0622.rtf‘Consequences Will Be Dire’ - Chile’s Water Crisis Is Reaching Breaking Point 0622.rtfIs My Home at Risk from Wildfire? This Is How to Find Out 0522.rtf - Maps of this are above, under Fires.Report Warns London and Other World Cities Face Rising Risk of Drought 0522.rtfUS Southwest Drought and Fires Are a Window to Our Climate Change Future 0522.rtfCalifornia Braces for Extreme Summer Drought after Dismal Wet Season 0522.rtfWest’s Megadrought Delivers Another Blow - Saving Glen Canyon Dam 0522.rtfRecord Low Water Levels Reveal Body in Barrel at Lake Mead 0522.rtfLake Powell Officials’ Stark Choice in West's Megadrought - Water or Electricity 0422.rtfDroughts to Increase Human Migration at Least 200% - 0422.rtfMega-Drought Threatens California Power Blackouts This Summer 0422.rtfDeadly ‘Smoke Waves’ from Wildfires Set to Soar 0322.rtfEurope Faces a Future of Extreme Droughts 0422.rtfArizona’s Future Water Shock 0322.rtfChina Is Running Out of Water. That’s Scary for Asia. 1221.rtf - 7% of world’s watere for 20% of the people. Large-scale diversions may have reaches their limits. Dam-building in China deprives Thailand and Laos of water. Desertification gobbles large chunks of China's land. Water-related energy shortfalls have become common across China.A Slow-Motion Climate Disaster - Brazil's Spread of Barren Land 1221.rtfMesopotamia – From Cradle to Grave 1021.rtfU.N. Weather Agency Says World Ill-Prepared for Looming Water Crisis 1021.rtfAs the Climate Bakes, Turkey Faces a Future without Water 0921.rtfA Thirstier Atmosphere - Why Fires Are Lasting Longer into the Night 0921.rtfCerrado Desertification - Savanna Could Collapse within 30 Years 0721.rtfChina Is Facing Its Worst Power Shortage in a Decade, a Whole-World Problem 0621.rtfU.N. Warns Drought May Be 'the Next Pandemic' 0621.rtf60% of World’s Rivers Stop Flowing for at Least One Day a Year 0621.rtfExtreme Drought and Fire Risk May Double by 2060 - 0121.rtfMore than 3 Billion People Affected by Water Shortages 1120.rtfAustralia’s Inland Rivers, Pulse of the Outback, to Be Unrecognizable by 2070 - 0920.rtfIn Parched Southwest, Warm Spring Renews Threat of ‘Megadrought’ 0720.rtfAustralia's Water Is Vanishing 0620.rtfWorld Population Facing Water Stress Could Double by 2050 as Climate Warms 0620.rtfDust Bowl Conditions of 1930s Now More than Twice as Likely to Recur 0520.rtfAmazon Rainforest Likely Drier, More Fire-Prone This Year 0420.rtfFuture Droughts May ‘Eclipse’ Those of the Past 0420.rtfGlobal Warming Threatens to Dry Out Europe’s Crop Fields 0420.rtfAmazon Tipping Point Puts Brazil’s Agribusiness, Energy Sector at Risk 0220.rtfClimate Change Is Drying Up the Colorado River, Putting Millions at Risk of ‘Severe Water Shortages' 0220.rtf
Here’s Where Water Is Running Out in the World — and Why 0823 - take 1 on study
2017-2019 Articles
2017-2019 Articles
India’s Ominous Future - Too Little Water, or Far Too Much 1119.rtfLocal Water Scarcity Spilling Over into Global Crisis 1119.rtfThirsty Future Ahead as Climate Change Explodes Plant Growth 1119.rtfWhat Happens When the Amazon Forest Disappears? 1019.rtfBillions Face Food, Water Shortages over Next 30 Years, as Nature Fails 1019.rtfIndia’s Ghost Villages - Food and Water Scarcity Forcing Many to Leave.rtfExtreme Water Stress Affects 1:4 of Earth's Population 0819.rtfDesertification Is a Serious Threat to Southern Europe 0719.rtf - Spain, Italy, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Cyprus. 18% of Spain is at high risk of becoming irreversibly desert.England Could Run Short of Water within 25 Years 0319.rtfWarming Winters, Dwindling Sierra Nevada Snowpack Squeeze California Water Resources 1218.rtfThe West’s Great River Hits Its Limits. Will the Colorado Run Dry? 0119.rtfCape Town Should Brace for More Severe Droughts than It Had in 2018 - 1218.rtfColorado River Is Drying Up for 40 Million Americans Who Depend on It 1218.rtfHow Climate Change Is Worsening Nigeria’s Long-Running Land Conflict 0618.rtfIn the U.S. Southwest, ‘Drought’ Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story 0718.rtf - “aridification” - changing toward desertTehran Faces Crisis, as Iran’s Water Supply Runs Low 0618.rtf - aridificationIt's So Dry, Forests Across the Southwest Are Closing 0618.rtfWater Shortages to Be the Environmental Challenge of the Century, NASA Warns 0518.rtfAs Warming Continues, Hot Drought Becomes the Norm, Not an Exception 0518.rtfWater Crises Could Be Coming to Your Backyard 0318.rtfShrinking Mountain Snowpack, Drier Summers Spell Trouble for Vancouver Water Supply 0318.rtfWater Shortages Could Affect 5 Billion People by 2050, UN Report Warns 0318.rtfWater-Stressed Beijing Exhausts Its Options 0318.rtfWestern Canada's Risk of Water Shortages Rising 0318.rtf1:4 of Land Will Be Drier, even Desertified, under 2°C Warming by 2050 - 0118.rtfAustralia Could Suffer from Droughts, Heat Waves as the Tropical Zone Expands 0717.rtfDrylands Will Suffer if World Reaches 2°C 0417.rtf - They expand from 40% to 56% of Earth’s land surface.Vanishing Nile Faces a Multitude of Threats 0417.rtf - Salination in Egypt’s delta, huge Blue Nile damDead Sea Warns of Unprecedented Drought 0317.rtfWorld Water Day - 1 in 4 Children Will Live with Water Scarcity by 2040 - 0317.rtfAmazon Jungle Faces Death Spiral of Drought and Deforestation, Warn Scientists 0317.rtfSource of Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers Drying Up 0317.rtfGlobal Warming Is Shrinking Colorado River, Vital to 40 Million People 0217.rtfLa Paz Adapts to a World without Water 0217.rtfMexico City, Parched and Sinking, Faces a Water Crisis 0217.rtfWhen Climate Change Starts Wars 0217.rtf - Central Asia becomes a tinder box as water is scarcer.How Climate Change in Central Asia Threatens to Spark Regional Conflict 0117.rtfA Witness to Iran’s Intensifying Struggle with Climate Change 0117.rtf
2016 Articles and earlier
2016 Articles and earlier
Bolivian Water Crisis as Glaciers Vanish 1116.rtfHow Big Droughts, Forest Fires Could Be the New Normal in Appalachia 1116.rtfRapidly Warming Mediterranean Headed for Desertification 1016.rtfClimate Change Killing East Africa’s Water Resources, UN Warns 1016.rtfU.S. Southwest Faces 99% Risk of 'Megadroughts' due to Climate Change 1016.rtfCalifornia's Drought Could Continue for Centuries 0916.rtfIncreased Drought Could See Londoners Queueing for Water 0916.rtfHow Can We Better Value Water, as Global Shortages Threaten Economies? 0916.rtfWhat Happens to the Great Plains When the Water's Gone? 0716.rtfStressed Indus River Threatens Pakistan’s Water Supplies 0616.rtfWater Scarcity Could Impact West Asian Credit Ratings 0616.rtfWhy Climate Change Matters - Water 0516.rtfGlobal Water Shortages to Deliver ‘Severe Hit' to Economies, World Bank Warns 0516.rtfFood System Shock - Climate Change's Greatest Threat to Civilization 0416.rtfBy 2050, Asia at High Risk of Severe Water Shortages 0416.rtfWe’re Running Out of Water, and the World’s Powers Are Very Worried 0416.rtfDelta Drought Gives Glimpse into Bleak Future for Mighty Mekong 0416.rtfSmall Islands to Face a Freshwater Scarcity 0416.rtfWill the Great Salt Lake Be Reduced to Dust? 0216.rtf21st Century US ‘Dustbowl' Risk Assessed 0216.rtf4 Billion People Face Severe Water Shortages in Some Months 0216.rtfSouthwest U.S. May Have Entered a ‘Drier Climate State’ 0216.rtfWorld 'Faces Food Shortages and Mass Migration' Caused by Global Warming 1215.rtfClimate Change Is Darkening Seattle’s Water Forecast 0915.rtfCentral Asia to Experience Water Crisis in 35 Years 0915.rtfMiddle East, Israel to be Water Scarce by 2040 - 0815.rtfSouth Africa’s Water Security in Peril 0815.rtfAsia’s Water Supply under Threat from Climate Change 0815.rtfDrought Damages Trees' Ability to Store Carbon 0715.rtfWater Insecurity Costs Global Economy Billions a Year 0415.rtfWhy Fresh Water Shortages Will Cause the Next Great Global Crisis 0315.rtfA Thirsty, Violent World 0215.rtfUnprecedented 21st century drought risk in the American Southwest and Central Plains 0215.pdfUS 'at Risk of Mega-Drought Future' 0215.rtf - summary of aboveRise in Wildfires May Resurrect Chernobyl's Radiation 0215.rtfScientists See Shrinking California Snowpack as a Harbinger 0115.rtfWater Woes in Lima - a Glimpse of Our Future? 1214.rtf - Lima receives 2 inches of rain per year.How Climate Change Helped ISIS 1014.rtf - Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc.Drying Amazon Could Be Major Carbon Concern 1014.rtfIs World War Water Looming? 1014.rtfThere's a Big Leak In America's Water Tower 0814.rtfPakistan's Largest City Thirsts for a Water Supply 0814.rtfGrowing Pains of China's Agricultural Water Needs 0614.rtfAs Mountain Snow Fails and Glaciers Melt, Pakistan Faces Water Threats 0514.rtfWater Goes ‘Missing' with Snow Loss 0514.rtfChina’s Thirsty Coal Industry Guzzles Precious Water 0514.rtfWhat Happens When the World Dries Out 1113.rtfWith or Without $2 Billion, Water Woes Here to Stay 1113.rtfNorth China Is Running Out of Water, Remedies May Be Disaster 1013.rtfPeak Water and Food Scarcity 0114.rtfWarming Will Worsen Water Scarcity 0913.rtfLooming US Water Crisis 0713.rtf - see aboveHow Do We Balance Needs of Energy, Water, and Climate? 1113.rtfClimate Change to Reduce US Southwest Water Supply 0411.rtfCalifornia Snowpack Outlook Grim for Water Supply 1112.rtfGroundwater Depletion Perilously Accelerates Worldwide 0910.rtfUK Embodied Water Imports Threaten 3rd World 0410.rtfWater More Vital Than Oil - Details 0209.rtfWater Shortages to Threaten US Security 0312.rtfWater More Vital Than Oil, Shortages Loom 0209.rtfDeserts Grow from 18% to 27% of China 0408.rtf - short version of the story just belowDeserts Grow 50% in China 0308.rtf
Section Map: Droughts, Deserts & Fires
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