The Earth’s land is drying out so rapidly that it is now contributing more to global sea level rise than melting glaciers, according to a major new study. Researchers have discovered that water loss from soil, lakes, and underground aquifers is accelerating sea level increases—an alarming shift that highlights a growing threat to global water and food security.
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The study, published in Science Advances, reveals that dry regions around the world are expanding at a staggering pace, forming vast interconnected “mega-dry” zones. One such zone now stretches from the southwest of the United States into Mexico, the result of depleted water reserves in areas like California’s Central Valley and the Colorado River basin. In the past, the drying of certain regions was typically balanced by increased rainfall in others. However, this natural compensation is no longer holding steady. Dry zones are now spreading at a rate equal to twice the size of California each year.
“Protecting the world’s groundwater supply is paramount in a warming world and on continents that we now know are drying,” the researchers wrote.
Using satellite data from 2002 to 2024, the research team analysed the way water is stored across Earth’s land surface, including in rivers, lakes, groundwater aquifers, snowpack, soil moisture and even vegetation. The study found that 101 countries are now consistently losing freshwater. As a result, roughly 75 per cent of the world’s population—close to six billion people—could face water shortages.
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While climate change remains a key driver, the research highlights that human actions are significantly worsening the problem. As the land dries, communities extract more water from underground sources. These aquifers are not being replenished at the same rate, fuelling the rapid expansion of dry zones.
One of the study’s most sobering conclusions is that, in many locations, groundwater being depleted today may not return within a human timescale. “The continued overuse of groundwater, which, in some regions like California, is occurring at an increasing, rather than sustainable or decreasing rate, undermines regional and global water and food security in ways that are not fully acknowledged around the world,” the authors warn.
They are now calling for urgent national and international decisions to protect this “precious resource” before long-term damage becomes irreversible. With the world’s freshwater reserves under increasing pressure, the study serves as a stark reminder: action on water sustainability must now become a global priority.
