Continents have lost so much freshwater in the past two decades that they now outpace melting ice sheets as the main driver of global sea level rise, according to an alarming new study. Researchers at Arizona State University say nearly 70% of this water loss stems from heavy groundwater pumping, where water is extracted from deep underground and ultimately winds up in the ocean. With higher evaporation rates linked to climate change, several regional "drying hotspots" have now merged into vast "mega-drying" zones in the Northern Hemisphere, according to a release.
The study, published in Science Advances, used satellite data to track water loss across the globe. These satellites detect subtle mass changes tied to shifts in water levels, allowing researchers to identify areas losing groundwater most rapidly—such as the North China Plain, northwest India, and California's Central Valley. These merged hotspots now form four massive drying regions: one stretching from Alaska through northern Canada and Russia, another across Western Europe, a third from the US Southwest through Central America, and a fourth in South Asia that now spans the Himalayas, per Live Science.
Interestingly, the Southern Hemisphere currently lacks these mega-drying zones, a shift the authors link to changes during a shift from a strong La Niña to the strongest El Niño on record between 2011 and 2014. Researchers also found that 101 countries—home to three-quarters of the world's population—have lost freshwater since 2002. The consequences are broad, affecting food production, ecosystems, and disaster risk, with groundwater becoming a critical resource in many drying areas. The study's authors say current water management policies need urgent overhaul. "This is an 'all-hands-on-deck' moment—we need immediate action on global water security," says Jay Famiglietti.
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