The parched planet paradox: How drought and sea level rise feed on each other

Overpumping groundwater, worsening droughts and more rapid evaporation due to higher temperatures have caused a drastic decline in the amount of available freshwater, according to a new study.“Continental drying” has redirected the planet’s total water to the oceans to such degree that it has now surpassed melting ice sheets as the biggest contributor to global sea level rise, the research found. Losses of land-based water could have profound implications for access to safe drinking water and the ability to grow food in some of the world’s richest agricultural regions.“We use a lot of water to grow food,” said Jay Famiglietti, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability and one of the authors of the study.

Overpumping groundwater, worsening droughts and more rapid evaporation due to higher temperatures have caused a drastic decline in the amount of available freshwater, according to a new study.

“Continental drying” has redirected the planet’s total water to the oceans to such degree that it has now surpassed melting ice sheets as the biggest contributor to global sea level rise, the research found.

Losses of land-based water could have profound implications for access to safe drinking water and the ability to grow food in some of the world’s richest agricultural regions.

“We use a lot of water to grow food,” said Jay Famiglietti, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability and one of the authors of the study. “If things don’t change, we’ll see impacts on our food security and just our general water availability.”

The findings “should be of paramount concern to the general public, to resource managers, and to decision-makers around the world,” the researchers wrote in the study, adding that the identified trends “send perhaps the direst message on the impact of climate change to date.”