Scientists mapped the flow of water through every single river on the planet, every day over the past 35 years, using a combination of satellite data and computer modeling. Nearly half of the world’s largest downstream rivers — 44% — saw a drop in the amount of water flowing through them each year, according to the research published Thursday in the journal Science. While this may not yet give the local precision of other studies, “we think this is maybe the most accurate map of river flow ever made,” he said. Significant decreases in downstream rivers mean less water is available on the largest parts of many of the planet’s rivers, the report noted. “There is a direct link between human activity and the changes to our life-giving water cycle,” Cloke told CNN.

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Persons: Dongmei Feng, Colin Gleason, ”, Alexis Huguet, Feng, Gleason, Hannah Cloke, ” Cloke Organizations: CNN, University of Cincinnati, UMass Amherst, Democratic, Getty, University of Reading Locations: Congo, Africa’s, China, South America’s Plata, Muanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, AFP, Vermont, “