Over Half Of All Lakes Have Seen Water Level Drops, Study Finds - Forbes

Over Half Of All Lakes Have Seen Water Level Drops, Study Finds

Topline

According to a new study published in Science on Thursday, over half of the world’s largest lakes have seen a decline in lake water storage due to climate change and unsustainable human consumption, putting the world’s already low amount of available freshwater at risk.
A buoy that reads 'No Boats' lays on cracked dry earth where water once was as people carry a boat ... [+] further out to reach water at Lake Mead, Nevada.

Key Facts

The study examined about 2,000 lakes and reservoirs from 1992 to 2000 and found 53% have experienced “significant water losses” at a rate of about 22 gigatonnes per year.

The authors estimate around two billion people live in the basins of a drying lake, accounting for around one-quarter of the world’s population.

Key Background

Freshwater lakes and reservoirs store 87% of the Earth’s water, the study notes, making them key resources. According to NASA, due to climate change, Earth’s surface temperature has risen about two degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, with most of the warming happening within the last 40 years and the last seven accounting for the warmest. The ocean is also getting warmer, as it’s absorbed most of this heat—Earth stores 90% of its extra energy in the ocean. The top 328 feet of the ocean has shown warming of around 0.67 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. Although 3% of earth’s water is freshwater, 2.5% of that is unusable as it’s either locked up in glaciers, polar ice caps, the soil or the atmosphere, very polluted or buried too far down into the earth’s surface that extracting would be too expensive, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. However, humans are overconsuming water at a large rate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports the average American family uses 300 gallons of water per day at home, with the toilet and shower accounting for 24% and 20% of usage respectively. When water reservoir levels drop, human health, water supplies and the environment face serious risk. Lower water levels can increase concentrations of human and natural pollutants, the EPA also notes.

Surprising Fact

Although most lakes are experiencing a decline in water, 24% are seeing a significant increase, according to the study. The underpopulated areas around the Northern Great Plains in North America and areas in the inner Tibetan Plateau and places with new reservoirs like Mekong, Yangtze and Nile river basin are seeing substantial growth.

Lakes Experiencing Droughts

Lake Mead (Nevada and Arizona)
A buoy that reads 'No Boats' lays on cracked dry earth where water once was as people carry a boat ... [+] further out to reach water at Lake Mead, Nevada on July 23, 2022. - Water levels in Lake Mead are at the lowest level since April 1937 when the reservoir was being filled for the first time, according to NASA.

The Dead Sea (Jordan and Israel)
This picture taken from Jordan shows a partial view of the Dead Sea, which is dropping dramatically ... [+] in height because of severe drought, on April 20, 2021. Experts say Jordan is now in the grip of one of the most severe droughts in its history.

Lake Poopó (Bolivia)
Aerial view of an abandoned boat on a desert at the site of former Lake Poopo, near Punaca Tinta ... [+] Maria, Bolivia, taken on October 15, 2022.

Lake Urmia (Iran)
A man laid out in Lake Urmia, which once again faces a threat of drying up due to drought which ... [+] affects the whole country.

The Aral Sea (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan)
Abandoned fishing boats in the dried up Aral Sea.

Lake Eyre (Australia)
An aerial view of Lake Eyre drying up.

Keban Dam Lake (Turkey)
A drone photo shows a giant sinkhole appeared on the peninsula with the withdrawal of Keban Dam Lake ... [+] waters due to drought at Agin district in Turkey.

Lake Powell (Arizona)
The tall bleached "bathtub ring" is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on June 24, 2021 in ... [+] Page, Arizona as severe drought grips parts of the Western United States.