World’s Major Rivers under Significant Dewatering Pressure

New research into the world’s major river systems has found that too much water is being taken out, and the situation is likely to get worse with climate change.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, reveal that environmental flows are not being met in the Colorado and Orange-Senqu Rivers and that the Murray-Darling and Yellow Rivers remain under pressure despite government intervention.

The researchers studied these four major continent crossing tributaries. “An increasing number of rivers around the world are described as closed, meaning that they don’t reach the sea,” the study notes. “A river that doesn’t reach the sea is an indicator of poor management.”