Fresh water resources

New: The Geography of Future Water Challenges

The ‘Geography of Future Water Challenges’, a new book on the many water challenges around the globe, to be launched at the UN Water Conference, is now available online.

Climate change is not always the main driver of river discharge changes

Annual discharge of many European rivers has changed, but not necessarily due to climate change. In Spain, for instance, increases in irrigated areas and afforestation have played a major role.

Phytoplankton blooms on lakes are increasing since the 1980s

A widespread global increase in intense lake phytoplankton blooms since the 1980s suggests that lake warming may counteract management efforts to reduce blooms by reducing nutrient loads.

Alpine rivers may run dry in future summers because less snow was stored in the winter

With global warming more precipitation in the mountains will fall as rain. Snow storage in the winter will decrease, reducing low river flow and fresh water availability in the summer.

New: The geography of future water challenges online in infographics!

Last year, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency published an assessment of the world’s water challenges. A web-based storyboard of this assessment is now available online.

Latest results for the Danube confirm earlier findings: the rivers’ characteristics will change

Climate change may not affect annual discharge volumes that much. It may, however, significantly change a river’s discharge characteristics. This impacts droughts and floods.

New: The geography of future water challenges

The geography of future water challenges shows the global water-related challenges of tomorrow, illustrated by a large number of well-designed maps and infographics. Free download.

Climate change is amplifying Europe’s contrast of drying south and wetting north

State-of-the-art climate models suggest anthropogenic climate change is amplifying Europe’s north-south contrast of available fresh water resources. Water scarcity will increase in Mediterranean.

Asia’s glaciers will loose at least one third of their ice mass this century

At a global temperature rise of 1.5 °C about one third of the present-day ice mass stored in Asia’s high mountains glaciers will be lost by the end of the century. But it may be much worse.

Warmer water due to climate change may lead to more algal blooms, or less

Lake warming due to climate change makes algae-poor lakes get poorer and algae-rich lakes get richer. Tailor-made management is needed to prevent negative consequences for ecology and society.

The warmer Europe gets, the more precipitation, runoff and river discharge change

In a warmer world, hydrological impacts of climate change are more intense. Heavy rainfall and highest river flows further increase, lowest flows decrease. In addition, these changes affect wider area

The River Rhine is heating up in response to climate change

Water temperature of the River Rhine is rising. It has been rising by over 2 °C in summer since 1978, and will continue to do so as a response to climate change.

Why climate change degrades deep-water quality of alpine lakes

Water quality of lakes is affected by shrinking glaciers. How? Through changes in river flows that change oxygen transport to lakes as well.

It will rain harder high up in the Alps in summer

In contrast to global climate model projections the intensity of summer rainfall may increase. This is important for fresh water supply and, for instance, with respect to flash floods.

Forest management can mitigate climate change effects on streamflow

Forest management can mitigate the effects of climate change. Climate and forest management interact and affect streamflow differentially.

Water scarcity increases worldwide due to climate change

Under a moderate scenario of climate change, by 2050 0.5 to 3.1 billion people are exposed to an increase in water scarcity solely due to climate change.

Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe

Lake summer surface water temperatures are warming significantly, with a mean trend of 0.34°C per decade, across 235 globally distributed lakes.

Climate change and groundwater pumping impacts on catchment dynamics in Spain

The combined effects of projected climate change and groundwater pumping has been assessed for a catchment in the Upper Guadiana basin (central Spain)

Trends in the hydrologic regime of Alpine rivers

Global warming affects precipitation volumes in the Alps, the contribution of rain and snow to these volumes, and the timing of snowmelt. An overall decrease in snow cover

Climate change impacts on groundwater recharge in southeast Spain

The impact of climate change on natural groundwater recharge has been assessed for southeast Spain. Groundwater recharge will decrease

Climate and anthropogenic changes on the hydrology of an Alpine catchment

Studies based on small mountainous glacierized basins overestimate the impact of climate change on downstream water flow.

Climate change impact on river discharge in Eastern Romania

An analysis of discharge data for small rivers in Eastern Romania over 1950–2006 showed increasing trends

Climate change impacts on discharges of the Rhone River in Lyon

Discharges in the Rhone basin are likely to decrease significantly by the end of the century. Besides, seasonality of run-off will change substantially as well

The end of scarcity? Water desalination as the new cornucopia for Mediterranean Spain

Desalination is being presented increasingly as a techno-social fix, against the pressures of urbanization, climate change and population on freshwater resources. There is also a downside

Streamflow timing of mountain rivers in Spain: Recent changes and future projections

The headwaters of the main Spanish rivers are located in mountainous territories where late-autumn and winter precipitation falls in the form of snow leading to the formation of a sustained snowpack.

Climate change impacts on groundwater and dependent ecosystems

Future climate change will affect recharge rates and, in turn, the depth of groundwater levels and the amount of available groundwater.

Embodied water imports to the UK under climate change

It is estimated that some 70% of the total water used in production and consumption in the UK is imported from other countries in the form of water embodied in goods.

Impact of climate change on water resources Crete (Greece)

Local water management planning and adaptation strategies need to be improved and updated in order to attain future water security ...

Projected changes in water availability in the United Kingdom

Overall, for the second half of this century, the majority of regional climate models project an increase in runoff during winter and a decrease over summer ...

Response to future water availability in Murcia

The export of agricultural products from the hot and dry Region of Murcia is a ‘virtual’ export of water from a water-scarce region ...

Ground water and climate change

Substantial reductions in potential groundwater recharge are projected for the 21st century in southern Europe and increases in northern Europe ...