Climate change — and human behavior — are shrinking the world’s biggest lakes + Airlines are growing their first-class seat offerings

Half of the world’s largest lakes have drastically dwindled over the past 30 years, “due to both human and climatic drivers,” according to a recent study that used satellite imagery, climate data, and cloud-based computing. The study notes that lake water storage loss can be seen “across major global regions including western Central Asia, the Middle East, western India, eastern China, northern and eastern Europe, Oceania, the conterminous United States, northern Canada, southern Africa, and most of South America.”

What’s causing the shrinkage? The biggest driving cause of the reduced water storage capacity is unsustainable usage of water, the study says, which has affected bodies of water such as the Aral Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Salton Sea, the study says. People are squandering water for agriculture and development specifically in natural lakes, the study’s lead author, Fangfang Yao said. Other major contributors include climate change-induced factors, such as changes in precipitation and rising temperatures.

Airlines are dedicating more space on their flights to first class seats as pent-up travel demand gave way to leisure travelers who are more open to spending more for the extra bit of comfort, the New York Times reports. Several American airlines are now retrofitting their cabins to increase the number of business and first class seats, as they look to maximize revenues per flight. The uptick in travelers looking to fly in premium seating actually began during the pandemic — despite a drop in business travelers driving down the price of premium seats — as travelers opted for better spacing on flights and had a bit more disposable income after months of lockdowns, the Gray Lady notes.

That’s not to say luxury travel is getting cheaper: As appetite for premium seating grew, airlines took note “and have been setting [ticket] prices as high as they can while still feeling affordable,” one industry watcher tells the New York Times. Some routes have pushed their airfare to as much as double their pre-pandemic levels, with the cost of airplane tickets nowrising faster than inflation rates in developed markets.