Climate change has led to unprecedented continental drying across the Northern Hemisphere, creating large 'mega-dry' regions as dry areas merge, driven by rising global temperatures and fossil fuel emissions.

Since 2002, NASA data shows that terrestrial water storage loss has doubled the size of these dry regions annually, threatening freshwater supplies for 75% of the global population in 101 countries.

Recent years, notably 2023 and 2024, have seen record-breaking forest fires across tropical and boreal forests, fueled by intensified droughts and land degradation, with over twice the average area burned compared to previous decades.

Scientists warn that reversing these damaging trends requires immediate and significant policy changes, especially from major CO2 emitters like the US, China, Russia, India, and the EU, which are critical to climate mitigation.

The expansion of mega-dry regions is contributing to sea level rise more than ice sheets and glaciers, while these dry areas are also experiencing intense, localized wet extremes that increase wildfire risks.

Four major mega-dry regions have formed in northern Canada, northern Russia, parts of North and Central America, and a vast tri-continental zone from North Africa through Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, to northern China and Southeast Asia, largely worsened by recent European droughts.

Approximately 75% of the world's population lives in countries losing freshwater, posing a severe threat to water security, agriculture, and civilization, and highlighting the urgent need for global action to reduce fossil fuel emissions.