Study: Most of Earth's Largest Lakes Are Drying Up

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May 19, 2023

Image copyright: NASA [via CNN]story last updated May 19, 2023

The Facts

According to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, more than half of the world's largest lakes and reservoirs have lost considerable amounts of water over the past three decades.
To construct lake water storage time series, the researchers examined climate data, hydrologic models, and nearly 250K satellite images of the world's biggest 1,972 lakes and reservoirs from the time period 1992 to 2020.

The Spin

Narrative A

Lakes and reservoirs are shrinking thanks to droughts, heat waves, and wildfires that owe their origins to climate change. The study is alarming, and with the current trajectory of climate change, the lake drying issue is likely to worsen. It's high time the world paid heed and took action to protect critical sources of water — which support regional ecosystems and an estimated one-quarter of the world's population. It's vital to curb global warming asap as well.

Newsweek

Narrative B

Studies like these allow "apocalypse investors" to profit from climate change, not stop it. While the public gets greenwashed, billions of dollars are poured into substituting oil and gas and addressing industrial-scale farming — which releases enormous amounts of greenhouse gases and pollutes water — in an attempt to curb global warming. However, there's no evidence that oil and gas are being substituted or phased out or that the world's largest food and agricultural businesses have switched to regenerative farming practices.