Future groundwater crisis: Scientists warn of toxic threats

The climate crisis is a fact. The planet is getting warmer, and droughts are becoming an everyday reality against which we fight. Unfortunately, higher temperatures also affect water quality in rivers, lakes, and streams. Scientists and hydrologists have no doubts. Humanity could die of thirst.

Those who believe that the climate crisis and global warming do not exist must not be observing what is happening before our eyes. Droughts have become the norm in many parts of the world. No one is surprised by fires in Europe or Australia anymore, during which many people and animals lose their lives. We are also getting used to massive downpours and floods troubling the world. Currently, scientists are coming with more bad news. Groundwater in the future will be toxic.

What is certain in life is that humans need water to live. This is why climate activists and scientists so often sound the alarm. They emphasize how important it is to take action here and now. Unfortunately, many people do not grasp the facts they present: the Earth is getting warmer and there is less and less water. Well, there is more bad news. Hydrologists fear that humanity faces death from thirst.

We spend most of our time discussing weather changes that we see with our own eyes. We read about storms, floods, or droughts on the front pages of newspapers and in headlines. Of course, this is good. It is necessary to educate and make society aware of this issue. Unfortunately, the problem of global warming is more than visible changes. Hydrologists remind us of what lies deep underground, namely groundwater. Higher temperatures could make this water undrinkable by the end of the century.

- The world's fastest rate of groundwater warming can be expected in areas with a shallow groundwater level or high atmospheric warming. About 30 million people live in regions where groundwater is warmer than stipulated in the strictest drinking water guidelines - reads a statement from Dr. Susanne Benz of the Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Institute of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

- Our results show how important it is to take action to protect groundwater and find sustainable solutions to counteract the negative impact of climate change on groundwater - Dr. Susanne Benz concluded in her statement.