In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found that Earth continents have been drying at an unprecedented scale since 2002 with over 75% of the global population living in countries that are losing freshwater at alarming rates. The findings, published in Science Advances and led by Arizona State University, draw on more than two decades of satellite data and expose what experts are calling a “planetary wake-up call.”
Researchers identified four massive “mega-drying” regions across the Northern Hemisphere, driven by climate change, groundwater overuse, and intensifying droughts. The consequences, scientists warn, could reshape global water security, agriculture, sea levels, and geopolitical stability.
Freshwater Disappearing Twice as Fast as It’s Replenished
Using data from NASA’s GRACE and GRACE-FO satellite missions, the research team revealed that dry regions are expanding at a rate nearly twice the size of California each year. The rate at which dry areas are getting drier now surpasses the rate at which wet areas are getting wetter overturning long-held assumptions about the global water cycle.
One of the most alarming revelations: 68% of all terrestrial water loss is from groundwater alone. Groundwater is a vital, nonrenewable resource and the current rate of extraction is contributing more to sea-level rise than the melting of Greenland and Antarctica combined.
Mega-Drying Zones Are Now Global Hotspots
The research identifies four major zones of continental-scale drying:
•Southwestern North America and Central America — covering major U.S. food-producing areas and sprawling cities from Phoenix to Mexico City.
•Alaska and Northern Canada — where melting glaciers and permafrost threaten both ecosystems and agriculture.
•Northern Russia — experiencing rapid snow and ice loss across its vast high-latitude landscapes.
•Middle East–North Africa and Pan-Eurasia — spanning key cities like Cairo, Tehran, and Beijing, as well as vital farming regions across Ukraine, northwest India, and China’s North China Plain.
What especially concerning is that these regions are no longer isolated drought zones they’ve expanded and merged into large interconnected drying systems, affecting vast populations and economies.
A Tipping Point and a Shift in the Water Cycle
The study also marks 2014–2015 as a tipping point in Earth’s water balance. During a major El Niño event, climate extremes intensified, groundwater use spiked, and continental drying began to outpace even glacier melt.
An unexpected pattern also emerged: since 2014, drying has shifted from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere a reversal not predicted by current climate models.
The Way Forward: Rethinking Water for the Planet
The researchers are calling for urgent action: new global groundwater management strategies, stronger international cooperation, and science-backed policies to slow the depletion. While climate change mitigation remains essential, the authors emphasize that immediate, region-specific water policy reforms could still make a difference.
The research will help inform a major upcoming World Bank report exploring the human and economic costs of the growing freshwater crisis and provide nations with actionable solutions to prevent deeper water insecurity in the decades ahead.
As the world population continues to rise, the shrinking freshwater supply could soon become one of humanity’s biggest challenges. And unlike many future climate threats, this one is already here spreading quietly, continent by continent.