Recent studies indicate that elevated temperatures have led to increased groundwater infiltration, exacerbating drought conditions and accelerating evaporation, thereby significantly decreasing the availability of freshwater.

The concept of “continental aridity” reallocates oceanic water to an extent, outpacing the melting of ice sheets as the primary factor contributing to global sea level rise, according to the research.

Loss of land water can severely affect access to safe drinking water and the ability to cultivate crops in some of the most fertile agricultural areas worldwide.

“We consume a significant amount of water for food production,” stated Jay Famiglietti, a professor at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability and one of the study’s authors. “If conditions remain unaltered, we anticipate that this will influence food security and overall water availability.”

The findings should be viewed as a primary concern by the public, resource managers, and global decision-makers, the researchers asserted. Research indicates that the identified trends convey a profoundly concerning message regarding the past effects of climate change.

“The continent is becoming drier, freshwater sustainability is diminishing, and the pace of sea level rise is accelerating,” the authors noted.

Published on Friday in the Advances in Journal Science, the study examines shifts in terrestrial water sources, including lakes, subterranean aquifers, and soil moisture over the last two decades. The researchers discovered that various elements, notably climate change, are disrupting Earth’s natural water cycle and complicating its flow between land, oceans, and the atmosphere.

Utilizing data from four NASA satellite suites, researchers analyzed terrestrial water storage modifications over the past 22 years. The satellites are specifically designed to monitor Earth’s water movement, including variations in ice sheets, glaciers, and underground reserves.

For instance, researchers found that arid regions of the world have been rapidly drying since 2014, with these drought-impacted areas expanding annually by regions twice the size of California.

In certain instances, areas experiencing drought have grown into large interconnected “megadry” spaces, as indicated by the research. One such vicinity encompasses Central America, Mexico, California, the southwestern United States, the lower Colorado River basin, and segments of the Southern Plateau.

“The essential takeaway here is that water is indeed a crucial factor influencing changes observed on both land and at sea,” remarked Benjamin Hamlington, a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who was part of the science team facilitating decades of data used in this new investigation.

The study revealed that all major land masses, except Greenland and Antarctica, have witnessed unprecedented dryness since 2002.

This widespread continental aridity is anticipated to have significant ramifications for humanity, with researchers noting that three-quarters of the global population resides in nations where freshwater resources are diminishing.

Simultaneously, rising oceans threaten coastal areas globally, decreasing habitability and increasing vulnerabilities to extreme storms and flooding. In the U.S., severe weather has contributed to insurance crises in coastal cities prone to these extreme events.

The correlation between sea level rise and the depletion of groundwater is a consequence of disrupting the planet’s water cycle. Many of these changes, such as excessive groundwater extraction, are regarded as permanent and could remain irreversible for millennia, according to Alexander Sims, a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“When water is extracted from the land, the only viable destination is the ocean,” he explained. “This water then enters the atmosphere, with 88% eventually returning as precipitation on Earth, leading back to the ocean.”

Sims acknowledged that while the study is significant for estimating the global scale of water losses, he harbors doubts about the assertion that these continental water losses outweigh ice sheet melting as the primary contributor to sea level rise.

However, Hamlington emphasized that this study illustrates how the movement of water around the Earth generates substantial ripple effects. It also suggests that further groundwater depletion could diminish freshwater supplies further and exacerbate drought conditions, with implications for the future.

“Monitoring terrestrial water storage is a crucial piece of the puzzle,” he added. “Understanding where that water is moving will aid us in predicting future droughts, floods, and the availability of water resources.”