Incredible shrinking lakes: Humans, climate change, diversion costs trillions of gallons annually

A new study says climate change’s hotter temperatures and society’s diversion of water have been shrinking the world’s lakes by trillions of gallons of water a year since the early 1990s. In the study published Thursday, scientists looked at nearly 2,000 of the world’s largest lakes. They found that from 1992 to 2020, the world lost the equivalent of 17 Lake Meads, America’s largest reservoir. Even lakes in areas getting more rainfall are shrinking. That's because a thirstier atmosphere from warmer air sucking up more water in evaporation, and a thirsty society that is diverting water from lakes to agriculture, power plants and drinking supplies.