Released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- Terrestrial water storage (TWS) dropped at a rate of 1 cm per year in 20 years (2002-2021).
- The biggest losses have occurred in Antarctica and Greenland.
- TWS: – It is the sum of all water on the land surface and in the subsurface, i.e. surface water, soil moisture, snow and ice and groundwater.
- Most of the drought-related deaths occurred in Africa and most of the flood-related deaths & economic losses were witnessed in Asia.
- Increasing temperatures are resulting in global & regional precipitation changes which will also lead to shifts in rainfall patterns as well as agricultural seasons.
Indian Scenario
- India is the ‘topmost hotspot of TWS loss’.
- India recorded the highest TWS loss after Antarctica and Greenland @ rate of at least 3 cm per year.
- Northern part of India has experienced the maximum loss.
- 5 of the 21 river basins in India are ‘absolute water scarce’ and 3 are ‘water stressed’ according to the Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator.
- Falkenmark indicator: It relates the total freshwater resources with the total population in a country. It also indicates the pressure that the population puts on water resources.
