Will Great Rivers Die – Yes

“Everything including the nature changes and to cry over the past is futile,” is completely true in the context of our great rivers.

Nile, Ganga, Sindh, Yangtze and Mississippi were the great names in the past. But they are no more. Everything changes in due course of time. Big rivers are dying due to the construction of big dams, pollution, climate change, landslides, tornadoes, volcanoes and other natural calamities. This is only a matter of time but our great rivers will be only in the pages of history. The great snowy peaks have melted. The great rivers have dried, changed their ways and sizes.

According to the UN, the sources of rivers, the Himalayans are being dried up. Many glaciers lakes in the Himalayan regions have exploded or disappeared due to the climate change. And the process is going in a speedy manner and ultimately the sources of our rivers will dried up and rivers die.

The face of the world is changing so fast due to the climate change. The Himalayans are being melted and narrowed down. The sources of river is severely affected. The great rivers are being polluted. The rivers are changing their ways and the great rivers of the past have dried up gradually. For example Nile and Indus rivers do not contribute to the ocean at all as they are in the process of dying completely within a few years time.

Great rivers Ganga, Sindh, Yangtze and Mississippi have lost their previous sizes.

The natural rule is clear and straight forward – that is everything changes. This is only a matter of time. It is clear that the rivers will dry one day but the question of today is how quickly the rivers will dry up is the matter of discussion. The pace of climate change is so quick that it will not take long time for the death of great rivers. Even if we resolve the problem of climate change, we cannot change the course of nature. The changes have taken place in the world since the creation of the universe and it will go like this without ending the process of change and transformation.

How rivers dry?

We have seen that the earth is changing drastically for the last few centuries and that process is going on. River Indus has almost dried. The deep gorges of the Himalayan regions are the living testimony of changes. There are deep gorges which we cannot even imagine that the rivers are flowing so deep today which were very high a few centuries ago. And this course is going on gradually.

Some horrible incidents are inevitable in the coming days as the natural changes are going in a speedy manner. Landslides, earthquake, volcanoes, floods, tornadoes, tsunami and drought change the face of the world. In addition to the natural changes, construction of dams and big projects have also adversely affected the rivers. Many glacial lakes have been dried. The snowy peaks have melted. Some rivers have dried up and some are so much polluted and are in the process of drying up completely. Natural disaster like terrible tsunami and Katrina can change nature. Lets look some of the great rivers of the world:

River Ganga in India

The main source of water resources of northern India, the historic Ganga river, is being polluted due to the big cities near the river.The river, which supports nearly 10 percent of the population of the world, has been over used and its source, the snowy peaks and glaciers lakes are being seriously affected due to the climate change. Thousands of people are being affected due to the floods every year. Nearly 160 species of fish, over 80 amphibian species, dolphin including endangered species are waiting for the inevitable death.
The size of the river is going down.


The paradise of the Middle East is now no more known by its name. Construction of dams, canals, pollution and over use is said to be the main reasons of this state today. The rare species like fish, birds are in the condition of extinction. So will be the fate of the river. The source of irrigation in the Middle East is drying up as its sources are going out of use. It no more reaches to the sea.

Yangtze River

One of the biggest rivers in South East Asia is being seriously affected due to the construction of big dams and floods. A large number of fish species and amphibians are already
gone to the pages of history as they are no longer available in this river which is known as “rich in biodiversity.”

The construction of big dams have displaced thousands of people from the basin and we see pitiable pictures of people being flooded or displaced during the rainy season. Most of the birds species, fish and amphibian found in the river have already disappeared or in a state of disappearance. Once known as the gift of China, is now known as the sorrow of China.

Amazon river

Once considered to be the blessing river of South America providing water resources for more than 100 million population of the area is undergoing drastic change with drying up the sources of resources. The source of irrigation to the countries of the region is no more like in the past. With its rich biodiversity in the past, the river is no more friendly to the water creatures. Construction of so many dams in South American countries specially in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the great river of the past is dying out slowly.

Tigres and Euphrates

Most of the countries in the Middle East are undergoing shortage of water as the historic Tigres and Euphrates rivers area have shown the sign of desertification. Once these rivers were the sources of ancient civilizations are now drying up. The ancient civilization which started in Harappa and Mohanjodaro were in the river side. But with the drying up of rivers, those civilizations ended and can be found only after excavation.

Many canals and over two dozen large dams are being constructed in these rivers which are being smaller and smaller every year.

Salween River

The world has to pay the price of larger dam construction as China is building big dams in many arts of Salween river basin. The water resources are being drying up. The biodiversity of the rivers is under threat and the population living around the areas are being seriously affected.

Nepal’s capital Kathmandu was developed in the bank of the river Bagmati, which was one of the greatest rivers of the Himalayan nation. However, it has dried up and there is a small river due to the increasing pollution, construction of dams- though not big and natural calamities. So are many rivers which are flowing directly from the snowy Himalayans. Some are completely dried up and some are in the process of drying. This is only a matter of time at what pace the climate changes or the natural disaster occur. The big rivers could be saved if appropriate action is taken in time that could also help prevent the incident of natural disasters.