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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/29/climate-crisis-depleting-europe-groundwater-reserves-analysis>
"Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using
two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across
southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the
UK.
Scientists at University College London (UCL), working with Watershed
Investigations and the
Guardian, analysed 2002–24 data from satellites, which
track changes in Earth’s gravitational field.
Because water is heavy, shifts in groundwater, rivers, lakes, soil moisture and
glaciers show up in the signal, allowing the satellites to effectively “weigh”
how much water is stored.
The findings reveal a stark imbalance: the north and north-west of Europe –
particularly Scandinavia, parts of the UK and Portugal – have been getting
wetter, while large swathes of the south and south-east, including parts of the
UK, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Romania and Ukraine, have been
drying out.
Climate breakdown can be seen in the data, the scientists say. “When we compare
the total terrestrial water storage data with climate datasets, the trends
broadly correlate,” said Mohammad Shamsudduha, professor of water crisis and
risk reduction at UCL.
It should be a “wake-up call” for politicians still sceptical about cutting
emissions, said Shamsudduha. “We’re no longer talking about limiting warming to
1.5C, we’re likely heading toward 2C above preindustrial levels, and we’re now
witnessing the consequences.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
