A New Study Reveals that the World's Continents are Drying at an Alarming Rate, Threatening Long-Term Freshwater Availability and Accelerating Sea Level Rise, as Millions of People Worldwide Already Face Severe Droughts
A recent study, based on data collected between 2002 and 2024 by two NASA missions, has found that these changes are continuous and accelerating at an alarming rate. Although short-term droughts are not uncommon, recent studies have noted long-term changes in the world's total terrestrial water storage. Terrestrial water storage refers to the total amount of water stored on land, including ice, surface water, groundwater, and soil moisture.
The study concludes that areas prone to drought are increasing by an area equivalent to twice the size of California each year, approximately one million square kilometers. In the Northern Hemisphere, this gives rise to what researchers call "mega-drought zones," which are interconnected hotspots of drought at the continental scale. While some regions are also becoming wetter, the balance heavily favors widespread drying. This change is attributed, according to the study, to the large-scale depletion of groundwater, which is a long-term decrease in water storage in aquifers due to pumping, particularly for agricultural use.
This phenomenon accounts for 68% of the observed changes in terrestrial water storage. Other causes include water loss in high-latitude regions, such as Canada and Russia, where ice and permafrost are melting due to rising temperatures, as well as extreme drought waves in Central America and Europe. According to the authors, the implications of this trend are profound and can be felt globally.
At the beginning of the study's measurements in 2020, approximately 6 billion people, or 75% of the global population, lived in areas where freshwater resources were decreasing. The reduction in terrestrial water availability leads to increased seawater input, which ultimately accelerates sea level rise. The study warns that this process is now contributing more to sea level rise than the melting of ice caps.
This research follows the publication of a report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which concluded that some of the most severe droughts ever recorded have occurred since 2023. With increasing levels of drought, tens of millions of people, particularly in Southern and Eastern Africa, are being pushed towards food insecurity, malnutrition, and forced climate migration due to the combined effects of poor water management, El Niño, and climate change.
