Recently released, ‘The State of Global Water Resources’ report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has revealed that the year 2023 was the driest for global rivers in the past 33 years. This shall not come as a surprise, given the fact that WMO had claimed 2023, the ‘Hottest Year’ on record, which later on was further confirmed by NASA.
“Water is the canary in the coal mine of climate change. We receive distress signals in the form of increasingly extreme rainfall, floods and droughts”
-Celeste Saulo-
WMO Secretary-General
From the mighty Mississippi to the revered Ganga, rivers that have fuelled human progress for millennia are facing unprecedented stress. What does this mean for our future, and how did we get here? As we explore the causes, impacts, and potential solutions, it becomes clear that the health of our rivers is a reflection of the health of our planet.
Rivers are drying—some concerning highlights
World river discharge conditions 2023 show that rivers mostly faced conditions that were drier-than-average for river discharge, compared to the historical period (1991–2020). More than half of global catchment areas in 2023 showed lower than average river discharge. The year 2023 ranked just behind 2022 in recent historical records for dry soils, which means that slowly, the world is gripping into the agricultural drought. The average groundwater levels in 2023 were much below average in North America, western and southern Brazil, southern and central Europe, as well as western and southern Australia. Similarly, reservoirs in India, especially along the west coast, experienced below- and much-below-average inflows in the same period.
Some regional case studies:
In 2023, more than 50% of global river catchment areas showed abnormal conditions, with most being in deficit. Rising global temperatures, heat waves, droughts, and changing precipitation patterns are drying up the rivers in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as Australia. Mississippi and Amazon have shown record low water levels.
Colorado river – A historic drought in the US has led to the drying up of the Colorado River, following which the government came up with the mandatory water cuts. This impacted the drinking water supply in the region.
Yangtze River in China is drying up because of its tributaries being encroached upon by humans. China has experienced its longest heatwaves in the last six decades. In Sichuan Province, China, where hydropower makes up about 80% of electricity capacity, the power situation has dwindled, and factories shut down for six days because of the drying up of the Yangtze.
Rhine river – Parts of the Rhine River in Europe
have emerged above the water’s surface. This
has negatively impacted the navigation in the
region as now the ships have to weave around
a series of obstacles, which in turn has led to an
increase in turn-round time as well as the cost
of operations.
River Po in Italy is fed by the snowfall in the higher reaches of the Alps mountains. But because of the climate change, the snowfall in the region was not sufficient, and summer has been dry too, plunging the region into the worst drought it has experienced for seven decades. The State of Global Water Resources report has also claimed that extreme melting patterns were observed in the European Alps, where Switzerland’s glaciers lost about 10 percent of their volume over the past two years.
In India, according to Central Water Commission (CWC) data, 13 east-flowing rivers between Mahanadi and Pennar, including Rushikulya and Vamsadhara, are drying up. The majority of the basins recorded less than 40% of their live storage capacity.
Rivers choked: Climate change and human impact
Some of the world’s most important rivers have been dried up for agriculture, industry, and drinking water. Start from the source of the river till the point where the river drains (mainly into the seas or sometimes also inland), weather extremities, and anthropogenic activities are drying up the rivers.
The Earth’s system is interdependent, and feedback linkages exist. In the wake of climate change, the glaciers are receding, which are the primary source of the rivers. These melting glaciers decrease the water discharge of the rivers. This, in combination with the shifts in the rainfall patterns across the world, has impacted the river regimes throughout. River regimes are the changes in the river’s discharge over the course of a year and are one of the most important factors to analyse the river flows. Rising weather extremities like floods or droughts both have the capability to alter the river channels. Excessive flooding can lead to erosion and cutting of natural embankments, further leading to meander intersections, which in turn can alter the river course. The transition from La Niña (2022-2023) to El Niño (2023) also led to a dry and warm situation worldwide, as the report has claimed.
Anthropogenic activities like deforestation, agriculture, and irrigation not only change the land-use pattern but also detrimentally impact the Earth’s feedback mechanisms. Cutting down trees disrupts the evapotranspiration, drying up the moisture in the air and throwing off the balance of the water cycle. The Ganga-Brahmaputra plains are witnessing a rise in critical blocks—the overexploited groundwater areas. Estimation of groundwater storage loss for the Indian Ganga Basin using multiple lines of evidence, estimates that groundwater storage levels in the Ganga basin have been declining by 2.6 centimeters per year. Human-engineered changes such as dams alter the river flows. Drain lines, which are made up of concrete and promote straightened flow, rush the water to rivers, which otherwise would have drained slowly through soil.
A call to save our Rivers:
Rivers, since ancient times, have been the cradle of civilisations. Most of the ancient civilisations have flourished on the banks of rivers: the Harappan civilisation of the banks of the Indus, the Vedic civilisation on the banks of the Ganga-Yamuna, the Egyptians on the Nile, the Ancient Chinese on the Yellow River, and the Mesopotamians in the Fertile Crescent on the Tigris/Euphrates.
Even today, the rivers have their own significance. Drying of rivers can get synonymous with dying up of life on Earth. Rivers are the freshwater resource, providing drinking water to people around the world. Rivers are home to some of the most diverse and endangered wildlife on earth, like Golden Masheer, Gangetic Dolphin, and Gharial. Olive Ridley Turtles are known for their mass nesting in the Brahmani-Batarani Delta. Rivers are also vital to people’s livelihoods, as agriculture, fishing, and tourism revolve around the rivers.
All of this requires global efforts to restore the rivers. Following are a few suggestions:
- Mapping of free flowing rivers across the regions must be done.
- Afforestation and reforestation along the river banks must be done.
- Paleochannels must be revived.
- Water footprint across the sectors must be analysed and water allocation policies must be framed accordingly.
- Principles of circular economy must be incentivised focussing on reduce-reuse-recycle.
- Adequate blue and green spaces must be accommodated while building the cities.
- Dedicated global fund must be established and required focus must be given to the developing countries.
Conclusion
The drying of rivers signals a crisis that demands immediate global attention. The solution lies in recognizing the intricate connections between climate, water, and human activities. The time to act is now, before the currents that once brought life start to carry it away.
References & Credits:
https://library.wmo.int/records/item/69033-state-of-global-water-resources-report-2023
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/rivers-running-dry-climate-change-droughts-floods/
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/20/world/rivers-lakes-drying-up-drought-climate-cmd-intl/index.html
