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Shortly ago, an international research group released a report that the areas affected by drought have remarkably increased and freshwater resources have decreased in different countries and regions of the world in the past few years.

According to it, continents have entered the stage of drying due to the sustained drought.

Researchers analyzed the freshwater depletion after 2014 on the basis of satellite measurement information. They discovered that the global average fresh water storage decreased by 1 200 ㎦ in the period between 2015 and 2023 as compared to that between 2002 and 2014.

Noting that the water crisis has become more serious than expected, they stated that natural and artificial factors have acted together.

Citing El Nino that occurred between 2014 and 2016 as a natural factor, the researchers asserted that the El Nino at the time changed the amount of rainfall and snowfall in different regions along with the global atmospheric flow.

They stressed that natural factors have produced certain effect on accelerating the freshwater crisis, but the artificial factor, that is, global warming caused by greenhouse gas emission, constitutes one of the major factors that have caused water evaporation and disrupted the hydrologic cycle.

A meteorologist said that if temperature rises, more water evaporates from the ground surface to the atmosphere and the probability and intensity of drought increase.

In actuality, the impact of climate change has significantly increased the incidence of drought worldwide over the past two decades. Since 2000, the frequency and duration of drought have increased by 29% as compared to the previous 20 years.

The decrease of underground water is also accelerated by lingering drought.

According to the analysis of observation of water volume in the global aquifer, the volume has decreased drastically in almost all regions of the world since 1980.  The underground water reduction speed has been increased since 2000, and this phenomenon is most pronounced in the aquifer of the drought zone. The researchers said that the reason for the faster underground water depletion in the drought zone lies in the excessive use of underground water in those areas.

Many areas of the world produce food by relying on underground water. If more groundwater is extracted now that water has dwindled in the aquifers in different countries and regions, it will not only deteriorate water resource shortage but also reduce the major crop cultivation area through the desertification of fertile land.

If freshwater resources are depleted, it will bring catastrophic consequences to mankind.

According to a recent report released by an international organization, about 3 billion people and large numbers of food production areas are suffering from drought and water availability is unstable in the world. Accordingly, more than a half of the world food production sector will be exposed to great threat until 2050.

The shortage of freshwater resources has also a direct impact on hygiene and health.

The lack of clean water increases the risk of outbreak of diseases like cholera. Such diseases can be fatal infections in areas where infrastructure for water supply is not developed.

The shortage of freshwater resources threatens the life and security of mankind, hinders economic development and creates social instability.

There is concern that the scramble for water resources may lead to conflicts between countries beyond the bounds of a country. The third Mideast war in the 1960s was also related with water resources. Rivers flowing through the territories of over two countries amount to 263 in the world.

The World Bank once warned that the 20th century was an era of conflict over oil, while the 21st century would be an era of conflict over water. It is not accidental that the media and experts of different countries of the world are concerned that a third world war may break out due to the water problem.

Researchers said that drought is expected to occur more frequently, be severer and last longer worldwide, adding that good freshwater resource management is one of the most important tasks in the 21st century.