Invasive species, drought, and climate shocks put global water security at risk

Yesterday 13:20

By: Dakir Madiha

Invasive species, drought, and climate shocks put global water security at risk

A growing convergence of invasive species, protracted drought, and intensifying climate extremes is placing critical water and food systems in India, Türkiye, and the United States under mounting strain, according to researchers and officials. From parched lakes in southern India to collapsing aquifers in central Türkiye and climate‑stressed drinking water networks across the U.S., experts warn that infrastructure built for a milder past climate is now failing to protect communities that depend on increasingly fragile supplies.

In the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, farmers in Dharmapuri district say an aggressive Latin American shrub, Prosopis juliflora, is transforming once‑reliable lakes into dry scrubland. The New Indian Express has reported that all 74 lakes managed by the Public Works Department are now affected, with dense stands of Prosopis choking feeder channels, reducing storage, and undermining both irrigation and drinking water access. Local farmer advocates told the paper that several large lakes, spanning more than 100 acres, now resemble desert terrain despite recent rains because the invasive trees are “draining the water” faster than it can accumulate. Eco‑hydrologists caution that such invasions in sensitive regions like the Western Ghats can alter catchment hydrology and ripple through river basins hundreds of kilometers away, reshaping the water balance for entire states.

Türkiye, meanwhile, has entered 2026 with what specialists describe as its most severe water deficit in two years, the result of a multiyear shortfall in rainfall and intensive groundwater extraction. Meteorological and geological experts say central agricultural provinces in the Konya Closed Basin are now seeing groundwater tables drop by around 2 to 3 meters annually, fueling the rapid formation of sinkholes in key farming districts. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority has mapped nearly 700 sinkholes across Konya and neighboring provinces, a number that has risen as climate change and drought deplete aquifers relied on for sugar beet and corn irrigation. Officials have responded with new regulations to curb invasive alien species and updated regional risk maps, but scientists warn that without tighter controls on water use and climate‑resilient planning, central Türkiye faces deepening threats to both rural livelihoods and national food production.

In the United States, a peer‑reviewed study in Communications Earth & Environment estimates that water utilities serving around 67 million people, roughly one in five residents, are highly exposed to climate‑related hazards, including drought, flooding, and extreme cold. By examining some 1,500 municipal systems, the researchers found that utilities in every region face growing risks, with those in the upper Midwest and Northeast especially vulnerable because much of their infrastructure dates back several decades. Lead author Costa Samaras of Carnegie Mellon University told ABC News that these networks were “built not for the climate that we are experiencing now,” leaving operators grappling with rising maintenance costs, damage from storms and freezes, and mounting revenue losses when service is disrupted. As of mid‑February, federal forecasters also classified more than two‑thirds of the contiguous United States as abnormally dry or in drought, compounding stress on surface and groundwater reserves and prompting local authorities along the Mississippi River and in parts of the Midwest to consider or enforce water‑use restrictions.

Taken together, the three cases underscore how ecological disruption, unsustainable water use, and a rapidly warming climate are colliding with aging or poorly adapted infrastructure in multiple regions at once. Scientists and policy specialists say that reversing invasive species spread in key watersheds, tightening controls on groundwater pumping, and investing in climate‑resilient water systems have become urgent priorities if countries are to safeguard food production and drinking water for hundreds of millions of people in the decades ahead.