Asia's "water tower" losing 24 billion tonnes of groundwater per year

The Himalayan and Tibetan Plateau region, known as Asia's "water tower," is losing approximately 24.2 billion tonnes of groundwater annually, with the steepest declines in densely populated farming areas. Glacier melt may temporarily ease the crisis around the 2060s, but researchers warn that without changes in water use, depletion will accelerate sharply afterward.