Rising temperatures may triple the rate of groundwater loss in India by 2080, further threatening the country's food and water security, according to a study. The study, published online in the journal Science Advances, showed that farmers in India have adapted to warming temperatures by intensifying the withdrawal of groundwater used for irrigation. 

If the trend continues, the rate of groundwater loss could triple. Reduced water availability in India due to groundwater depletion and climate change could threaten the livelihoods of more than one-third of the country's 1.4 billion residents. "We find that farmers are already increasing irrigation use in response to warming temperatures, an adaptation strategy that has not been accounted for in previous projections of groundwater depletion in India," said Meha Jain, Assistant Professor at University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability.