May 31st: Read on to find out about a concerning new climate change development…
According to a research released last week, more than half of the world's big lakes and reservoirs have decreased since the early 1990s, primarily as a result of climate change, raising worries about the availability of water for human consumption, hydropower, and agriculture.
For the people who rely on those lakes for irrigation and drinking water, this is a major issue. Drying lakes can potentially cause dangerous dust storms and endanger the survival of nearby ecosystems and migratory species.
According to surface hydrologist Fangfang Yao of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, "About one-quarter of the Earth's population lives in these basins with lake water losses."
As reported by a group of worldwide academics, the world's most significant freshwater sources, including Lake Titicaca in South America and the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia, have been losing water at a cumulative pace of around 22 gigatonnes per year for over three decades. That is around 17 times the size of Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the US.
As per Fangfang Yao, a surface hydrologist1 at the University of Virginia and the study's lead author, human consumption and climate change were responsible for 56% of the loss in natural lakes, with warming accounting for "the larger share of that."
A surface hydrologist1 is a scientist or expert who specializes in studying and analyzing water on the Earth's surface. They focus on understanding the movement, distribution, and properties of water in rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other surface water bodies.
Surface hydrologists play a crucial role in managing and preserving water resources. Their research and findings inform water resource management strategies, flood control measures, environmental impact assessments, and the development of policies related to water use and conservation.
The study discovered considerable water loss even in humid places, contrary to the prevalent belief of climate experts that wet areas will grow wetter and the world's desert parts will become drier as a result of climate change. This must not be disregarded, Yao said.
With the help of climatic and hydrological models, satellite observations researchers evaluated approximately 2,000 big lakes. To estimate the population around the drying lakes, the scientists also used population statistics.
They discovered that 53% of lakes showed a drop from 1992 to 2020 due to unsustainable human usage, changes in rainfall and runoff, sedimentation, and rising temperatures.
A dwindling lake basin directly affects over 2 billion people, and recent shortages have been felt in many areas.
To avoid the most dire effects of climate change, scientists and activists have long argued that global warming must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Currently, the earth is warming at a pace of about 1.1 C (1.9 F).
According to a report released on Thursday, excessive human usage has caused lakes to dry up, including the Aral Sea in Central Asia and the Dead Sea in the Middle East. Lakes in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Mongolia have also been affected by rising temperatures, which are causing more water to evaporate into the sky.
A quarter of the lakes saw an increase in water levels, frequently as a result of dam building in far-flung regions like the Inner Tibetan Plateau.