Ganga going through worst dry spell in 1,300 years: Study
A fresh study from IIT Gandhinagar has found that the Ganga river is going through its worst dry spell in over 1,300 years—a change that could impact water for more than 600 million people across India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
The research was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Research challenges climate models
By digging into drought records from the Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas, scientists saw that between 1991 and 2020, the Ganga's flow dropped sharply—much more than even during historic droughts like those in the 1500s.
The study also challenges climate models that expected river flow to go up with global warming; instead, unpredictable monsoons and human activity are making things worse.
Researchers say understanding these changes is key for future water planning as our climate keeps shifting.