Too much groundwater pumping is draining many of the world’s rivers

Over half of pumped watersheds could pass a critical ecological threshold by 2050

Ganges River

Excessive pumping from groundwater that feeds rivers, like the Ganges River (shown), is harming river ecosystems around the world.

Virender Jaiswal/iStock / Getty Images Plus

Humankind’s collective thirst is slowly desiccating landscapes worldwide, a study of groundwater finds.