High Mountain Asia—the “Asian Water Tower” supporting hundreds of millions downstream—lost groundwater at an estimated 24.2 billion tonnes a year between 2003 and 2020, particularly across the Indus and Ganges–Brahmaputra basins. Melting glaciers and thawing permafrost may conceal part of the decline until the 2060s, but as that temporary buffer weakens, researchers project groundwater depletion will accelerate.
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High Mountain Asia is often described as a water tower because its snowfields and glaciers collect water at altitude and release it into some of the world’s great rivers. But a second reservoir sits out of sight beneath the ground. It helps farmers through dry seasons, supports cities when surface supplies falter and smooths some of the wild year-to-year swings in mountain weather.
That hidden reserve is shrinking. A study published in Environmental Research Letters estimates that High Mountain
That hidden reserve is shrinking. A study published in Environmental Research Letters estimates that High Mountain
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