Our Rivers Are Drying; No Action On Water Crisis May Collapse The Ecosystem And Turn Earth To Mars Like
Current Status Of Rivers and other water bodies Many of the world’s largest and most important rivers are running dry: 1- The Colorado river, which flows from the high plains of the Western U.S. to the Gulf of California in Mexico. 2- The Indus, the primary source of freshwater for most of Pakistan, is now so exploited that it no longer flows into the ocean at the Port of Karachi. 3- The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth largest inland water body, in just a few decades, it was reduced to a handful of small lakes with a combined volume only one-tenth the original. 4- In the USA, the Rio Grande runs from southwestern Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. It defines much of the border between Texas and Mexico. 5- The Paluxy River at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas, USA dried up. Dinosaur tracks from 113 million years ago uncovered due to severe drought conditions. 6- Since 1972, the sixth longest in the world, the Yellow River or Huang He River of China, has run dry before reaching the sea. 7- Yangtze River in China has revealed a submerged island in the southwestern city of Chongqing and three Buddhist statues which are believed to be 600 years old. 8- Teesta river, the lifeline of Sikkim, has largely dried up. 9- Murray river, Australia's longest and most important river, stretching from the Australian Alps across the inland plains to the Indian Ocean near Adelaide is drying up. 10- Italy’s longest river and a vital water transport hub, the Po river, is also drying up. 11- River Rhine, one of Europe’s main water arteries, has dried up. 12- France’s longest river, Loire, is running dry due to 'historic drought'. More than 100 towns don't have access to drinking water. 13- Explosive-laden German warships, which were sunk during World War II in the Danube river, have emerged near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo amid low water levels on the river Danube. 14- Italy's worst drought in decades has reduced Lake Garda, the country's largest lake, to near its lowest level ever recorded, exposing previously underwater rocks. 15- Spain and Portugal are facing its worst drought on record, with research suggesting the Iberian Peninsula could be the driest it has been for more than 1,000 years. 16- Some Canadian rivers are at risk of drying up because of the impacts of climate change and growing water demand from the country's cities, industries and agriculture. Among the rivers at risk is the mighty Mackenzie, one of the world's longest free flowing rivers, Skeena, Fraser, Athabasca, Nipigon, South Saskatchewan, Grand, St. Lawrence, Saint John, and Ottawa. The Fraser river produces more salmon than any other river on earth; its fishing industry is worth over $300 million annually. 17- In W. Raqqa province of Syria lowering water level of the Euphrates revealed a Roman/Byzantine graveyard in the rock. 18- South-East Asia’s biggest river Mekong is drying up; water in the Mekong river is perilously low. 19- Kabul river, a historical symbol of the Kabul city, of Afghanistan is also drying. Elbe, Thames, Le Toleure, and Weser are other rivers in Europe that are drying up.
Cases of drying rivers in India
India is also facing a water crisis like never before. In India, the Central Water Commission (CWC) reported three major river basins, namely Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery, were severely distressed. India’s famous river Ganga also is drying up. There is not enough flow at several locations that the Ganges passes by. The Ken River, which flows over 450 km across two states, has almost dried up. Reasons for dryness Rivers are running dry due to human overuse and mismanagement. The Colorado river is so heavily tapped for agriculture, industry, and municipal uses, it rarely reaches the ocean anymore. The Indus is drying due to overuse and overdependence for household, industrial, and agricultural sectors. The Aral Sea was fed by Central Asia's two greatest rivers, Amu Darya in the south and Syr Darya in the north. In the 1960s the Soviet Union built a large irrigation network, including 20,000 miles of canals, 45 dams, and more than 80 reservoirs, to irrigate fields of cotton and wheat in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. After several decades, the Amu Darya & Syr Dariya had lost so much of its flow that it no longer reached the Aral Sea. Due to heavy use of water by Texas and Mexico, the river Rio Grande failed to reach the coast entirely. Like many other major rivers, the waters of Yellow river and Yangtze have been extensively diverted for agriculture. Higher than normal temperatures increase the evapotranspiration of the river’s waters and, together with missing precipitation, result in lower water levels. The water of Teesta river in recent years has been so thoroughly tapped for irrigation and other uses that it has largely dried up. Disruptions and diversions have reduced the flow so much that mouth of Murray river closed due to silt formation. The Italian government declared a state of emergency in five regions due to drying Po river. Water restrictions have been implemented in several countries, including the UK, due to drying Rhine river. Loire, the source of cooling water for 12 nuclear power plants, is running dry due to historic drought. The India Today reported that primary consumer of water in India is agriculture which consumes over 85 per cent of India's freshwater. In the agricultural sector, only 40 per cent of the farmers irrigate their crops through rivers; the rest rely on rains and groundwater for agriculture. Wells, ponds and tanks are drying up as groundwater resources come under increasing pressure due to over-reliance and unsustainable consumption. This has increases the water crisis and placed a more significant burden on accessing water. As per CWC, the per capita annual water availability in the country has progressively reduced due to increase in population, urbanization, improved lifestyle of people, etc.
Steps to save drying rivers in India and world
India is not far from the water crisis. Taking small initiatives to conserve water, rainwater harvesting and making a conscious efforts to reduce water pollution are important ways to save clean water for future generations. The Modi government now aims to provide potable water through taps to 191 million rural households by 2024, from the existing one out of six homes. The average family of four can use 400 gallons or more of indoor water every day. According to NITI Ayog, India is suffering from the worst water crisis in history and millions of lives and livelihoods are under threat. Currently, 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about two lakh people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water. By 2030, the India's water demand is projected to be double the available supply, and an eventual ~6% loss in the country’s GDP. As per the report of National Commission for Integrated Water Resource Development, India, the water requirement by 2050 in high use scenario is likely to be 1,180 BCM, whereas the present-day availability is 695 BCM. According to WWF, just one-third of the world's longest rivers remain free-flowing. The growing demand for water and warming climate have caused lakes and rivers around the world to dry up. Climate change and growing human water use are causing these rivers and streams to dry up. Climate change is exacerbating the drought periods for the river, making water management even more challenging. Climate Change is altering rainfall patterns and increasing evaporation because of Global Warming which is strawing water out of some of the world’s largest lakes, rivers and seas. The installation of dams, use of water for agriculture, human consumption, mismanagement of water, deforestation, sand mafia, unplanned constructions and the La Nino have all led to dry days for major water bodies across the globe. In Europe, the ongoing drought could be the worst in 500 years. World's waterbodies, like rivers, lakes etc. are getting extinct.
The latest United Nations report on the effect of climate change on water resources points to more frequent and longer droughts causing the lack of water in many parts of the world. According to the UN, 2.2 billion people have no access to drinking water and that number is expected to grow fast. We all would have to take immediate steps to stop river-extinction and extinction of waterbodies. Here are some suggestive steps to save our drying rivers:
1- Treat the trash before throwing it away.
2- Oil spills from vehicles or heavy industries should not be allowed to get discharged into the rivers.
3- The ecological imbalance and global warming, due to climate change, are making rivers dry. So, act for nature, ecosystem restoration, and generation restoration to change climate change.
4- Create awareness among people regarding the death of rivers. Most people are not even aware of the ill health of our rivers. They should be made aware to save the rivers.
5- Heatwaves, drought, and extreme weather can be expected more in the climate future. Unless we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, things will escalate even further.
6- According to UNEP, improved management of water resources, and 'water efficiency means' for agriculture like drip irrigation, a target within the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, would help reduce demand on freshwater supplies worldwide. 7- Water is essential for life and we can never live without water. Rivers, groundwater, and inland waterbodies are lifeline and are primary source of freshwater. Control human population and expansion, agriculture expansion, urbanization, industrialization, and households explosion to reduce anthropogenic impact on our lifesaving waterbodies.
Please, let the Earth remains a living planet, do not let make it a planet like Mars. Our rivers are drying; no action on water crisis may collapse the ecosystem and turn Earth to Mars like. As an advanced organisms, our behavior should be sustainable with the resources necessary to survive on the Earth.
Finally, here is a great quotation by great environmentalist Mike Hudema, for leaders and citizens of Earth: "How many more 'historic events' before we #ActOnClimate?" - Mike Hudema
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