Overview

• GRACE and GRACE-FO satellite data show Earth’s continents have lost an average of 50 billion tonnes of freshwater annually since 2002
• Groundwater depletion accounts for 68 percent of total water loss, exceeding polar ice melt in its contribution to sea-level rise
• A 2014–15 El Niño tipping point accelerated extreme droughts and groundwater withdrawals and triggered a reversal of traditional wet-dry hydrological patterns
• Four Northern Hemisphere megadrought regions are expanding by roughly twice the area of California each year, intensifying stress on water and food supplies
• The study finds that 75 percent of the global population live in countries with net freshwater losses and calls for immediate sustainable water management and aquifer recharge efforts