Some areas in the Indo-Gangetic basin in India have already passed the groundwater depletion tipping point and its entire northwestern region is predicted to experience critically low groundwater availability by 2025, according to a new report by the United Nations.

Titled “Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023” and published by the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), the report highlights that the world is approaching six environmental tipping points: accelerating extinctions, groundwater depletion, mountain glacier melting, space debris, unbearable heat and an uninsurable future.

Environmental tipping points are critical thresholds in the Earth’s systems, beyond which abrupt and often irreversible changes occur, leading to profound and sometimes catastrophic shifts in ecosystems, climate patterns and the overall environment.

Around 70 per cent of groundwater withdrawals are used for agriculture, often when above-ground water sources are insufficient. Aquifers play a crucial role in mitigating agricultural losses caused by drought, a challenge expected to worsen due to climate change.

However, the report warns that the aquifers themselves are approaching a tipping point. More than half of the world’s major aquifers are depleting faster than they can naturally replenish. When the water table falls below a level accessible by existing wells, farmers may lose access to water, posing a risk to entire food production systems.

Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, have already exceeded the groundwater risk tipping point, while others, including India, are not far from it.

“India is the world’s largest user of groundwater, exceeding the use of the United States and China combined. The northwestern region of India serves as the bread basket for the nation’s growing 1.4 billion people, with the states of Punjab and Haryana producing 50 per cent of the country’s rice supply and 85 per cent of its wheat stocks.

“However, 78 per cent of wells in Punjab are considered overexploited and the northwestern region as a whole is predicted to experience critically low groundwater availability by 2025,” the report says.

Jack O’Connor, the lead author and senior expert at UNU-EHS, said, “As we approach these tipping points, we will already begin to experience the impacts. Once crossed, it will be difficult to go back. Our report can help us see risks ahead of us, the causes behind them and the urgent changes required to avoid them.”

Amid Israel’s military response to the October 7 terror attacks, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said the terrorist group Hamas was hiding behind Palestinian civilians, stressing that they are despicable and cowardly.

Addressing a joint press conference with Australian PM Anthony Albanese on Thursday, President’ Biden condemned Hamas’s attack on Israel and reaffirmed solidarity with its ally.

Biden added that Israel has the right and responsibility to respond to the slaughter of its people.

“We will ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against these terrorists…We also have to remember that Hamas does not represent the vast majority of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip or anywhere else. Hamas is hiding behind Palestinian civilians and is despicable and, not surprisingly, cowardly as well,” he said.

He also thanked the Israelis and Palestinians for supporting the US in its effort to provide food and other necessities to the innocent people in Gaza.

“I want to thank the Israelis and Palestinians…for working with the US to make sure that food, water and medical supplies are getting through to the innocent people in Gaza,” Biden said.

The President added that the US was working around the clock to secure the release of the civilians held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We’re working around the clock together with our partners in the region to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens left behind and held by Hamas and the safe passage of foreign nationals out of Gaza. Not just Americans, but Australians and a whole range of people,” he added.

Meanwhile, condemning the Hamas attacks on Israel, Australian PM Albanese said, “We grieve for the loss of every innocent life, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian.”

Albanese noted, however, that respect for international humanitarian law is paramount in times of crisis.

“It is a recognition of our common humanity,” he added, announcing an additional USD 15 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza.

Australia earlier released USD 10 million for emergency water and medical services.
“Today I announced that Australia will provide an additional 15 million dollars in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza. This adds to the 10 million dollars Australia has already committed and will help deliver life-saving assistance such as emergency water and medical services,” Albanese said.

Biden added that the attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank are adding fuel to the fire.
“I continue to be alarmed by extremist settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank,” the ‘POTUS’ said, adding, “The attacks are adding fuel to the fire. They’re attacking Palestinians in places they’re entitled to be. It has to stop now.”

Earlier, on Wednesday, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, departed for West Asia for meetings with regional leaders aimed at preventing the Gaza war from spreading to additional fronts, according to the US State Department.

Leaf’s first stop will be the United Arab Emirates, after which she will proceed to Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Israel.
Adding to this, additional stops may be taken, the State Department informed.

Gurgaon experienced a decline in air quality after Dussehra, with the air quality index reaching 190, categorized as ‘moderate’. This is worse than last year but better than 2021. Experts attribute the increased pollution to the timing of Dussehra in the last week of October, allowing pollutants from effigy burning and stubble burning to accumulate closer to the lower atmosphere. Slow dispersion of pollutants due to meteorological conditions is also a contributing factor. In Delhi, the air quality index was 243, not reaching the ‘very poor’ category despite some instances of firecracker burning.