2023-05-19 03:51:00
A man looks at a dry lake in India.
A study published in Science ensures that 53 percent of the great surfaces of fresh water on the planet suffer the effects of climate change and indiscriminate use.
A study published this Thursday (05.18.2023) by the journal Science states that more than half of the great lakes on the planet are losing water due to global warming and unsustainable consumption, which endangers the water security of humanity and creates a challenge for authorities around the planet.
The research marks the first time that a detailed analysis of the trends and reasons for changes in water accumulation in the world’s lakes has been carried out, according to lead author Fangfang Yao of the University of Virginia. The researcher used information from a variety of satellites and models. He hopes his findings will allow authorities and citizens to better protect critical water bodies and their ecosystems.
“Lakes are in danger all over the world, and this has large-scale implications,” said Balaji Rajagopalan, a professor at the American University of Colorado Boulder and co-author of the study. “It really struck us that 25 percent of the world’s population lives in a lake basin that is on a declining trend,” he continued, meaning some 2 billion people are affected by the findings.
faster evaporation
Specifically, the team of experts created a technique that measures the variation in water levels of 2,000 of the world’s largest lakes and reservoirs, combining three decades of satellite observations with a model that quantifies the changes. In total, they collected 250,000 images of lakes and their surroundings, from the 1990s to the year 2020.
The results: 53 percent of the lakes and reservoirs experienced a decline in water storage, at a rate of approximately 22 gigatons per year. Over the entire study period, 603 cubic kilometers of water were lost, 17 times the water from Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States.
To find out what caused these phenomena, the team used statistical models that incorporated climatic and hydrological trends and distinguished natural factors from those of human origin. In the case of natural lakes, much of the net loss was attributed to climate warming and human consumption of water.
The increase in temperatures caused by the climate change favors evaporation, but can also reduce precipitation in some places.
DZC (EFE, AFP)
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