Global terrestrial water storage (TWS) anomalies reached a record low of −6697 km3 in 2023, decreasing 759 km3 from 2022. These reductions reflect widespread droughts across North and South America, Europe and Asia, and ongoing TWS losses from glacial melt and groundwater use for irrigation.
Key points
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Of the 759 km3 global TWS losses in 2023, 339 km3 is contributed by anthropogenic factors, while 420 km3 is from natural factors.
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La Niña-associated tropical wetting led to multi-year natural gains in global TWS, slowing the rate of TWS loss since 2020.
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TWS exhibited natural drying trends across northern mid-high latitudes and pockets of strong negative anomalies in south-western North America and South America.
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Data availability
The GRACE/FO TWS data, developed by the Center for Space Research (CSR) at the University of Texas, Austin4, can be downloaded at the GRACE Tellus website (https://www2.csr.utexas.edu/grace/RL06_mascons.html).
Change history
23 April 2025
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-025-00680-z
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Acknowledgements
The authors were supported by the NASA GRACE-FO Science Team and the NASA Western Water Application Office.
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Li, B., Rodell, M. Terrestrial water storage in 2023. Nat Rev Earth Environ 5, 247–249 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00545-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00545-x
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