Europe’s hidden water crisis exposed by new satellite analysis

LONDON

Vast stretches of Europe are rapidly losing freshwater, according to a major new analysis of more than two decades of satellite data.

Scientists at University College London, working with Watershed Investigations and The Guardian daily, found that total water storage has sharply declined across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.

Using satellites that detect subtle changes in Earth’s gravitational field, researchers were able to “weigh” groundwater, lakes, rivers, soil moisture, and glaciers.

The results show an increasingly divided continent: while northern and northwestern regions, including Scandinavia and parts of the UK and Portugal, have become wetter, much of the south and southeast has seen dramatic drying.

Climate change is clearly visible in the data, scientists say.

“When we compare the total terrestrial water storage data with climate datasets, the trends broadly correlate,” said Mohammad Shamsudduha, professor of water crisis and risk reduction at University College London.

Groundwater – often seen as more resilient – is also declining.

The UK reflects the continent’s wider imbalance.

“Overall, the west is getting wetter while the east is becoming drier, and that signal is getting stronger,” Shamsudduha said. He warned that shifting rainfall patterns, including heavier downpours and longer dry spells, could pose “serious challenges,” particularly in southeastern England, where groundwater supplies about 70% of public water.

Across the EU, groundwater body_abstractions (taking water either temporarily or permanently) have risen by 6% since 2000, despite overall water use falling. The European Commission says its water resilience strategy aims to help countries adapt, with leakage levels ranging from 8% to 57%.

Hydrologists warn that Europe is not acting fast enough. “It’s distressing to see this long-term trend,” said Hannah Cloke of the University of Reading. “Next spring and summer, if we don’t get the rainfall we need, there will be severe consequences for us here in England.”

She cautioned that new reservoirs alone will not solve the crisis. “We’re just not doing these things fast enough to keep pace with these long-term trends.”

Shamsudduha said Europe must prepare for the impact of a drying climate, which could affect farming, ecosystems, and even food imports. “We need to accept that climate change is real, it’s happening, and it’s affecting us,” he said.