Grundvattnet sinar; “an era of global water bankruptcy” with irreversible consequences

The concept of water bankruptcy works like this: Nature provides income in the form of rain and snow, but the world is spending more than it receives — extracting from its rivers, lakes, wetlands and underground aquifers at a much faster rate than they are replenished, putting us in debt.

Climate change-fueled heat and drought are compounding the problem

“If you keep calling this situation a crisis, you’re implying that it’s temporary” said Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health, and the report’s author.

“Many regions are living beyond their hydrological means” and it’s impossible now to return to conditions that used to exist, Madani said.

Kabul may be on course to be the first modern city

 to run out of water. 

Mexico City is sinking at a rate of around 20 inches a year as the vast aquifer beneath its streets is over-pumped.

Nearly 4 billion people face water scarcity for at least one month every year.

Cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Tehran, where expansion and development have been encouraged, despite limited water supplies. “Everything looks right until it’s not,” and then it’s too late, Madani said.

Meyil sinkhole in Karapinar in the central Anatolian province of Konya, Turkey. Sinkholes have increased in recent years due to drought and overuse of groundwater. 

Some regions are affected more severely, the report noted. The Middle East and North Africa grapple with high water stress and extreme climate vulnerability.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/20/climate/water-bankruptcy-drought-united-nations

Den största faktorn för kontinental uttorkning är grundvattenförlust.

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2025/08/den-storsta-faktorn-for-kontinental.html

America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow

Det första jag oroade mig för, när jag var fem år, har mina föräldrar berättat, var grundvattnet. Hur det kom sig vet jag inte; kanske jag hade hört Farbror Magne tala om det? Nu får jag vatten på min kvarn.

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2023/08/america-is-using-up-its-groundwater.html

 Much less winter snow is falling on the Himalayas

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2026/01/much-less-winter-snow-is-falling-on.html