TECH Signal 312
High Mountain Asia loses 24.2 billion tonnes of groundwater annually as irrigation and climate impacts intensify
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Satellite and AI analysis reveals High Mountain Asia is losing 24.2 billion tonnes of groundwater annually, driven by climate factors and human irrigation.
This depletion threatens water security for hundreds of millions across downstream countries relying on these reserves for agriculture. While glacier melt may temporarily buffer the decline around the 2060s, depletion is expected to accelerate afterward if water use patterns remain unchanged.
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High Mountain Asia is losing approximately 24.2 billion tonnes of groundwater annually, with the worst declines in densely populated farming regions.
Researchers used an AI model combining satellite observations and Earth system modeling to reconstruct two decades of groundwater changes.
Climate factors and human irrigation withdrawals are driving the depletion, which may temporarily slow in the 2060s before accelerating.
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