NEW DELHI — A new study by Indian researchers has revealed that the Ganga basin is enduring its most severe drying phase in at least 1,300 years. The research, conducted by scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, and the University of Arizona, reconstructed the river’s historical streamflow from the years 700 to 2012 CE.
The findings indicate that the current drying trend is 76% more severe than a major drought in the 16th century, which was previously the next worst period on record. The study identified 15 drought years between 1991 and 2020, with the period from 2004 to 2010 being the most severe drought of the past 1,300 years.
The researchers note that this extreme drying trend cannot be explained by natural climate variability alone. This finding challenges existing global climate models, which generally predict an increase in streamflow in the region with global warming. The study suggests that the severity of the trend may be influenced by complex interactions between summer monsoon patterns, large-scale climate trends, anthropogenic warming, and aerosol emissions.