NASA study maps human effects on terrestrial water storage
A NASA-led analysis identified 40 regions where water-storage changes were associated with irrigation, reservoirs, or land-use change.
Using satellite observations from 2002 through 2025, researchers examined long-term changes in water stored in soil, aquifers, rivers, lakes, and ice. They found human activities were significantly associated with storage trends across every nonpolar continent except Australia.
The study linked groundwater irrigation to declines in several regions, while reservoirs and some land-use changes were associated with increases elsewhere.