“Groundwater pumping accounts for 68% of the total loss of fresh water at the latitudes where most people live.”
Twenty-two years of NASA satellite data shows nearly 6 billion people in 101 countries face declining water supplies. The drying rate accelerated around 2014 and now expands by an area twice the size of California each year. Aquifers took millions of years to form and need thousands to refill. Extracted groundwater now contributes more to sea level rise than glacier melt. We are draining the planet’s water savings account to grow crops and fill pools and there is no plan for what happens when it runs out.