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A recently published study based on more than 20 years of NASA satellite data shows that the continent is rapidly arid and the vast Earth’s freshwater resources are under threat. This is the key findings of the report and what they portray as humanity.
Much of the planet is suffering from the “dry continent” pandemic, affecting countries, including 75% of the world’s population, new research shows.
The study, published in the Journal Science Advances, examined changes in the global total supply of freshwater supplies and found that nearly 600 million people live in 101 countries facing net declines in water supplies, poses a “significant new threat to humanity.”
Mining underground freshwater aquifers promotes much of the loss.
The study shows that uncontrolled groundwater pumps by farmers, cities and businesses around the world account for 68% of the total freshwater loss at the latitudes where most people live.
Much of the water collected from the aquifer ends up in the ocean, which contributes to the rise of the ocean.
Mined groundwater is pumped from a rarely infiltrating aquifer and is pumped from there. Rather, most are rushed into streams, then rivers, and eventually into the ocean. Researchers say that in addition to moisture lost to evaporation and drought, runoff from pumped groundwater now surpasses the Antarctic or Greenland ice sheets as the melting of glaciers and the largest water contributor to the ocean.
Water from the land has become a major driver of sea level rise
Most of the water lost in arid areas is due to groundwater pumping, eventually moving fresh water from the aquifer to the ocean.
Note: Glaciers refer to the continental portion covered by glaciers, but exclude the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica. Arid lands and aquifers refer to water lost by continents in unglacialized regions, including river flow and evaporation. Groundwater loss accounts for 68% of the drying at those locations.
As drought grows to an even greater extent, farmers become more and more groundwater.
Around the world, 70% of freshwater is used to grow crops, and more crops are born from groundwater as drought grows to an even greater extent. Only a small amount of water penetrates the aquifer. We have studied how people consume more water from underground when climate-driven heat and drought are at their worst.
The arid regions of the planet are fused.
Parts of the most acutely arid world are interconnected, forming what the research authors call the “mega” region. One such region covers almost the entirety of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Asia.
In recent years, the aridity of the earth has been accelerating.
This study examines 22 years of observational data from NASA’s gravitational recovery and climate experiments, or from the bounty satellites that are applied to measure changes in Earth’s mass and estimate moisture. Since 2002, sensors have been detecting a rapid shift in global moisture loss. Around 2014, the study found that the pace of dryness appears to be accelerated. It now grows twice as many regions as California each year.
The aridity of the earth has accelerated in recent years.
The dramatic depletion of groundwater and surface waters and the melting of the glaciers from 2014 to 24 are connected to previously isolated, arid sites, forming a “mega-dry” region across the continent.
south america
2003-2013
2014-2024
North America
Note: Data are from February 2003 to December 2013 and January 2014 to April 2024. The first period contains 7 months of data than the second data.
Water pumped from the aquifer is not easily exchanged if it is absolutely the case.
The major groundwater basins underlie about a third of the planets, including about half of Africa, Europe and South America. Many of these aquifers may take millions of years to form and thousands of years to replenish. Researchers warn that it is now nearly impossible to reverse water losses “on a human timescale.”
When the continent becomes dry and the coastal area is flooded, the risk of conflict and instability increases.
Accelerated aridity, combined with flooding in coastal cities and lowlands of food production, tells the risks of a global order as “potentially incredible,” researchers warn. All of their findings demonstrate the effects of widespread hunger potential, the movement of a large number of people seeking a more stable environment, and the carry-on effects of geopolitical obstacles.
Data Source: Hrishikesh. A. Chandhamplekal, James S. Famiglietti, Kausic Gopalan, David N. Wiese, Yoshihidewada, Kaorukakinuma, John T. Reager, and Fanchan (2025). Unprecedented aridity of the continent, reduced availability of freshwater, and increased land contributions to sea level rise. Advances in science. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adx0298
Graphics by Lucas Waldron
