According to a new study published in Nature Communications, India is losing more and more water from its reservoirs and lakes because of climate change.

Rate of evaporation of water from reservoirs both man made and natural has increased at a pace of 5.9% each decade between 1985 and 2018. Prime reason for excessive evaporation is the large surface areas of lakes in India, the surface area has been increasing at a rate of 91 square kilometers per year since 1985.

Researchers believe evaporative loss of water has long been ignored in the study of climate and water. We need to learn how rising temperatures are affecting the water cycle

“Our findings raise the alarm about the need for better quantification of evaporative loss for reservoirs in the context of climate change.” said Gang Zhao, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of global ecology at the Carnegie Institute for Science and first author of the study.