The Global Crisis of Water Depletion and Contamination, Part 6 of a Multi-part Series

The Caspian Sea, a source of energy, food, trade, and biodiversity balance for five countries, has become central to a regional ecological crisis; the world’s largest inland body of water is shrinking at a shocking rate. Close to the border with Iran, here the situation along the coast appears even more stark.

In 2024, the United States continued to experience drought conditions, with unusually warm temperatures prevailing throughout the year. Seventeen states recorded their warmest year on record, while twenty states experienced their second or third warmest year. More than 150 million people and 318 million acres of crops were impacted by droughts. Another groundbreaking new report revealed that humanity has disrupted the global water cycle to an unprecedented extent for the first time in history, sparking a worsening water crisis that threatens economies, food production, and lives.

The hottest summer on record in 2024 caused the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland to drop to a record low of just 20 centimeters. Meanwhile, Bosnia has broken its annual heat record for the past three years, and a scorching drought has emptied one of the country’s largest lakes, Lake Jablaničko.

In 2024, Sicily, Italy, experienced its most severe drought in nearly two decades. Reservoirs were almost dry, and up to two million people were forced to endure water rationing. South Romania is also suffering from drought and desertification. In the Oltenia region, a sandy area of about 100,000 hectares is expanding every year.

According to the landmark report from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, 77.6% of Earth’s land became permanently drier in the last 30 years, expanding drylands by 4.3 million square kilometers, an area nearly a third larger than India.