Study reveals that more than half of world’s large lakes and reservoirs drying up

A recent study published in the journal Science has shed light on the drying up of more than half of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs, drawing attention to the climate crisis and global warming.

The study titled “Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage” explores the state of 1972 major lakes worldwide using three decades of satellite observations, climate data, and hydrologic models. It aims to identify significant declines in lake volume for the period 1992-2020.

The findings reveal that 53 percent of these water bodies experienced a decrease in storage over the studied period. The study attributes the net volume loss in natural lakes primarily to climate warming, increased evaporation demand, and human water consumption, while sedimentation is identified as a dominant factor in reservoir storage losses.

The authors of the study emphasize the critical state of lakes globally and highlight the need to incorporate the impacts of climate change and sedimentation into sustainable water resources management. They note that approximately one-quarter of the world’s population lives in a basin of a shrinking lake, underscoring the significance of these findings for water security.

Balaji Rajagopalan, a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and co-author of the study, expresses concern over the declining trend of lake basins, affecting around two billion people. He highlights the lack of adequate monitoring of lakes compared to rivers, despite their crucial role in water security.

The study indicates that 53 percent of lakes and reservoirs experienced a decline in water storage at a rate of approximately 22 gigatonnes per year. Throughout the study period, a total of 603 cubic kilometers of water were lost, which is equivalent to 17 times the volume of water in Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States.

The researchers emphasize that the impact of climate change is evident across all factors affecting lakes. They also bring attention to previously unknown instances of water loss, such as the desiccation of Lake Good-e-Zareh in Afghanistan and Lake Mar Chiquita in Argentina, highlighting the often overlooked consequences of human and climate change footprints on these water bodies.