Scientists have cautioned that the world is fast losing its groundwater reserves which can cause severe problems to more than 1.7 billion people who depend on the reserves.

According to scientists from McGill University and the Netherlands' Utrecht University, the groundwater data shows that many underground water sources from around the world are depleting faster than the supply. The threat is most serious in certain areas of North America and Asia including western Mexico, the High Plains and California's Central Valley in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Iran, northern India, and parts of northern China. The scientists also noted that the over consuming areas are critical to agriculture.

Per Tom Gleeson, the Assistant Professor from McGill and the team lead, the results are "sobering", showing that globally, the world is consuming 3.5 times more water than what aquifers can support.

"The relatively few aquifers that are being heavily exploited are unfortunately critical to agriculture in a number of different countries," Professor Gleeson told Reuters. "So even though the number is relatively small, these are critical resources that need better management."

"The effect of this water use on the supply of available water will be very different," Gleeson added. "Until now, there has been no way of quantifying the impact of such agricultural groundwater use in any consistent, global way."

Gleeson's suggestions to make the water resources more sustainable would be limiting the water extraction, executing more efficient irrigation procedures and promoting different diets that contains less or no meat. Some earlier studies showed that it takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat.

The present study was published in the journal Nature.