Ganga River News:
A study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar has revealed that the Ganga River has faced unprecedented drying over the past three decades, posing serious risks to water and food security for millions living along its basin. Findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), show that between 1991 and 2020 the Ganga’s decline has been unmatched in the past 1,000 years.

The study, conducted jointly with the University of Arizona, links the river’s shrinking flow to weakening monsoon rainfall in South Asia. Using historical records and modern hydrological models, researchers reconstructed 1,300 years of river flow patterns.

Since the 1990s, droughts have become 76% more severe compared to the 16th century. Annual rainfall from 1951 to 2020 has declined by 9.5%, with some western Indian regions seeing up to a 30% drop.

While climate change is expected to intensify rainfall, rapid warming of the Indian Ocean and weaker monsoons over northern India have reduced river inflows. Groundwater depletion and increased irrigation demands have further worsened the drying trend.

Earlier studies suggested that glacial melt and heavier rains might boost river flows, but this research warns that future water availability is far more complex and uncertain. The driest period in the last 1,300 years was found to be 1991–2020, followed by 1501–1530 and 1344–1373.