The Ganges River, lifeline for hundreds of millions in South Asia, is drying at a rate scientists call unprecedented. Climate change, erratic monsoons, relentless groundwater pumping and heavy damming are pushing one of the world’s most iconic rivers toward collapse.
The stakes could not be higher. From the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, the Ganges basin supports over 650 million people, provides nearly a quarter of India’s freshwater, and sustains vast agricultural and economic systems. Yet new studies reveal that its decline is accelerating beyond anything seen in recorded history.
Unprecedented drying beyond natural variability
Researchers reconstructed streamflow records stretching back 1,300 years. Their findings are alarming: the worst droughts in the basin’s history have occurred in recent decades, far beyond natural variability.
Stretches of river once navigable year-round are now impassable in summer. Large boats that once sailed from Bengal to Varanasi now run aground in shallow waters. Canals that irrigated crops for weeks longer just a generation ago are running dry early. Even wells that families relied on for decades now yield little more than a trickle.
Perhaps most troubling, global climate models have failed to predict the severity of this drying, suggesting human and environmental pressures are interacting in unpredictable and dangerous ways.
Melting glaciers, vanishing rivers
At the Ganges’ source in the Himalayas, the Gangotri glacier has retreated nearly a kilometre in only two decades. Rising temperatures are accelerating glacier melt across the entire Himalayan range, often described as the water towers of Asia.
Initially, rapid melting creates sudden floods. In the long run, however, it means far less water will flow downstream during dry months. As these glaciers shrink, the summer flow of the Ganges and its tributaries is dwindling too.
Human pressures are making things worse
The crisis is not just about climate. Human activity is exacerbating the Ganges’ decline.
- Groundwater extraction: The Ganges-Brahmaputra basin is one of the most rapidly depleting aquifers on Earth, dropping by 15–20 millimetres per year. Much of it is already contaminated with arsenic and fluoride, threatening health and crops.
- Dams and barrages: More than a thousand engineering projects have altered the river’s natural flow. The Farakka Barrage alone has reduced dry-season flows into Bangladesh, increasing salinity and endangering the Sundarbans mangrove forest.
- Industrial growth: Factories and urban expansion along the riverbanks continue to draw heavily on its water, worsening shortages.
Across northern Bangladesh and West Bengal, smaller tributaries are already vanishing in summer. These disappearing rivers are a harbinger of the Ganges’ own trajectory if action is delayed.
Consequences for food, water, and livelihoods
The Ganges crisis threatens far more than the river itself. Farmers face shorter irrigation periods, forcing lower crop yields. Fishermen are watching once-productive stretches of river turn barren. Communities relying on wells or canals are left without reliable water for drinking or livestock.
If current trends continue, experts warn that millions across the basin could face severe food shortages within decades, with cascading consequences for migration, health, and regional stability.
Saving the Ganges: what needs to be done
Urgent, coordinated action is the only way forward. Piecemeal fixes will not solve a problem of this magnitude.
- Sustainable groundwater use: Extraction must be reduced so aquifers can recharge.
- Environmental flow requirements: Enough water must remain in the river to sustain both ecosystems and communities.
- Improved climate models: New tools must integrate human pressures such as irrigation and damming with monsoon variability.
- Transboundary cooperation: India, Bangladesh, and Nepal must share data, coordinate dam operations, and prepare for climate impacts together.
- Inclusive governance: Local communities must have a voice in river restoration efforts alongside scientists and policymakers.
International support and funding will also be essential. Rivers like the Ganges should be treated as global priorities, not just local challenges.
A sacred symbol at risk
The Ganges is more than a river. It is a lifeline, a sacred symbol, and the cornerstone of South Asian civilisation. But it is drying faster than ever, with unthinkable consequences if action is delayed.
The time for warnings is over. The world must act now to ensure the Ganges continues to flow—not just for today, but for future generations.