Lakes, a vital natural resource, are vanishing at an alarming rate because of the intense human interference (or the Anthropocene epoch) in Earth’s system. Globally, around 117 million lakes cover nearly 4 per cent of Earth’s land surface, which makes their decline a matter of serious ecological concern. The trend is visible in India as well. For instance, 518 of the total 697 lakes recorded in 1967 in Jammu and Kashmir have either disappeared or shrunk, according to a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on Conservation and Management of Lakes. The report for the period up to March 2022 also notes that 315 lakes have vanished in Jammu and Kashmir. But these findings are not isolated, as similar patterns of degrading or vanishing lakes can be seen in various parts of India.  But what are the underlying causes behind the disappearance of lakes?…