Groundwater quality evolution across China.

ABSTRACT: China is facing a severe groundwater quality crisis amid economic development and climate change, yet the extent and trajectory of this crisis remain largely unknown. Here we developed a machine-learning model, incorporating natural and social-economic factors, to construct annual probabilistic maps of poor groundwater quality (PGQ, i.e., Class V based on the Chinese groundwater quality standard) across China from 1980 to 2100. Alarmingly, our findings indicate a concerning escalation in PGQ area ratio, rising from 17.3% in 1980 to 30.1% in 2000, and surging to 40.8% by 2020, adversely affecting 6.8%, 17.5%, and 36.0% of the Chinese population, respectively. The predominant drivers of this degradation were identified as agricultural discharge (contributing to 10.7% growth in PGQ area ratio

SUBMITTER: Zhou Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11906735 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature