water-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources: Assessment and Modeling, 3rd Edition

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 4241

Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Hydrology and Water Management, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-712 Poznań, Poland
Interests: flow regime; flow seasonality; thermal conditions; water chemistry; ice phenomena; climate change; human activity; methods of detecting changes and classifying river regimes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water resources are a national source of wealth, and their availability is essential to sustain life and human activities. The amount and availability of water resources in the world vary spatially and temporally, with an increasing number of places facing severe water shortages.

It is predicted that climate change will significantly affect the spatiotemporal distribution of water resources, leading to the transformation of the water cycle in the catchment and changes in the structure of the water balance. An increase in deep low flows in rivers is expected, which may reduce surface water and groundwater resources. In lowland catchments, evapotranspiration will increase at the expense of water resources, causing a reduction. The acceleration of the hydrological cycle may lead to increasingly frequent water-related extreme events, including droughts and floods. The expected changes in water resource availability may result in periodic deficits in the water supplied to the population, as well as shortages in agriculture and forestry, which could entail severe socioeconomic losses.

Being aware of these threats and taking action to mitigate their future effects is necessary.

Current forecasts of water consumption trends resulting from socioeconomic development and the climatic changes that overlap with them are subject to considerable uncertainty. Climate models (including global circulation of the atmosphere) and demographic and economic development models do not yet enable precise projections of changes in the hydrological cycle and water resource availability.

This Special Issue invites researchers to present their results of new findings from the assessment and modeling of hydrological processes and water resources under the conditions of climate change, regularities in their spatiotemporal variability in relation to water management, and the related threats.

Prof. Dr. Leszek Sobkowiak
Prof. Dr. Dariusz Wrzesiński
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water resources
  • water use
  • surface water
  • ground water
  • variability
  • projections of change
  • water regime
  • seasonality
  • changes in lake water resources
  • modeling changes

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 2011 KB  
Article
Study on the Objective Improvement of Optimal Threshold Selection Algorithm Based on ECMWF Ensemble Model Precipitation Forecasts
by Jin Li, Linfeng Zhang, Xiaoqian Ma, Hao Yang, Jiawen Zheng and Hongke Cai
Water 2026, 18(11), 1292; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18111292 - 26 May 2026
Viewed by 492
Abstract
To address the limitation where the traditional Optimal Threshold Selection (OTS) scheme achieves a high Threat Score (TS) at the expense of an increased False Alarm Rate (FAR), this study develops an Objective Improvement of Optimal Threshold Selection (OIOTS) scheme based on the [...] Read more.
To address the limitation where the traditional Optimal Threshold Selection (OTS) scheme achieves a high Threat Score (TS) at the expense of an increased False Alarm Rate (FAR), this study develops an Objective Improvement of Optimal Threshold Selection (OIOTS) scheme based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble precipitation forecasts. The correction performance is verified using high-resolution observations during the post-flood season in Guangdong Province. The results indicate that (1) optimal quantiles exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity and decrease sharply with increasing precipitation intensity, confirming the necessity of grid-specific correction over uniform provincial thresholds. (2) The Optimal Precipitation (OP) threshold remains stable across different lead times but shows distinct regional characteristics influenced by topography, whereas the corresponding Probability Threshold (PT) demonstrates a downward trend as the lead time extends. (3) Verification reveals that, compared with the OTS scheme, the OIOTS scheme effectively rectifies the high FAR inherent in the optimal quantile method while maintaining a comparable TS. By minimizing the absolute difference between TS and FAR, the OIOTS scheme achieves a superior balance between detection accuracy and error suppression, with its FAR showing a significant downward trend as precipitation magnitude and lead time increase. Given its high computational efficiency and robust performance, the proposed scheme offers a reliable solution for operational meteorological forecasting. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 11722 KB  
Article
Modeling Spatiotemporal Streamflow Patterns in the Missouri River Basin Under Future Climate Scenarios
by Benjamin Donkor, Zhulu Lin and Siew Hoon Lim
Water 2026, 18(7), 858; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18070858 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 1109
Abstract
Understanding the spatiotemporal streamflow patterns under future climate scenarios is critical for sustainable water resource management in large river basins. This study applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), forced by five downscaled and bias-corrected CMIP6 global climate models, to evaluate historical [...] Read more.
Understanding the spatiotemporal streamflow patterns under future climate scenarios is critical for sustainable water resource management in large river basins. This study applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), forced by five downscaled and bias-corrected CMIP6 global climate models, to evaluate historical (2008–2024) and future (2025–2049) streamflow patterns in the Missouri River Basin in the continental United States. Model calibration and validation were satisfactory, with NSE > 0.5, KGE ≥ 0.5, R2 > 0.5, and PBIAS within ±25% at most USGS gauge stations. Future projections indicate spatially and temporally variable hydrological responses: The upper basin (Bismarck, North Dakota) is projected to experience lower flows across most percentiles and reduced extreme events, whereas the lower basin (Hermann, Missouri) shows decreased median flows but higher extremes. Recurrence interval analysis of 2-, 5-, 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year flows suggests that 100-year flows may decline by 11% at Bismarck and increase by 37.4% at Hermann. These results highlight the importance of integrating percentile-based and extreme event streamflow analyses with hydrologic modeling for assessing the spatiotemporal streamflow patterns under future climate scenarios in large-scale basins. Quantitative insights into future streamflow variability and its implications for flood risk mitigation, water resources management, and adaptive strategies were gained for one of North America’s largest river systems. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2662 KB  
Article
Seasonal and Spatial Variations in General Extreme Value (GEV) Distribution Shape Parameter for Estimating Extreme Design Rainfall in Tasmania
by Iqbal Hossain, Shirley Gato-Trinidad and Monzur Alam Imteaz
Water 2026, 18(3), 319; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18030319 - 27 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1134
Abstract
This paper demonstrates seasonal variations in the generalised extreme value (GEV) distribution shape parameter and discrepancies in GEV types within the same location. Daily rainfall data from 26 rain gauge stations located in Tasmania were used as a case study. Four GEV distribution [...] Read more.
This paper demonstrates seasonal variations in the generalised extreme value (GEV) distribution shape parameter and discrepancies in GEV types within the same location. Daily rainfall data from 26 rain gauge stations located in Tasmania were used as a case study. Four GEV distribution parameter estimation techniques, such as MLE, GMLE, Bayesian, and L-moments, were used to determine the shape parameter of the distribution. With the estimated shape parameter, the spatial variations under different seasons were investigated through GIS interpolation maps. As there is strong evidence that shape parameters potentially vary across locations, spatial analysis focusing on the shape parameter across Tasmania (Australia) was performed. The outcomes of the analysis revealed that the shape parameters exhibit their highest and lowest values in winter, with a range from −0.234 to 0.529. The analysis of the rainfall data revealed that there is significant variation in the shape parameters among the seasons. The magnitude of the shape parameter decreases with elevation, and a non-linear relationship exists between these two parameters. This study extends knowledge on the current framework of GEV distribution shape parameter estimation techniques at the regional scale, enabling the adoption of appropriate GEV types and, thus, the appropriate determination of design rainfall to reduce hazards and protect our environments. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

36 pages, 2370 KB  
Review
Climate Change and Water Resources: A Comprehensive Review of Impacts, Adaptation Strategies, and Resilience Frameworks
by Lucian Dordai, Marius Roman, Cecilia Roman and Anca Becze
Water 2026, 18(14), 1735; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18141735 - 17 Jul 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 891
Abstract
Freshwater resources constitute a fundamental component of coupled natural–human systems, underpinning ecosystem functioning, biogeochemical cycling, and socio-economic development. Anthropogenic climate change (i.e., climate change attributable to human activity, as distinct from natural climatic variability), driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions and land-use change, [...] Read more.
Freshwater resources constitute a fundamental component of coupled natural–human systems, underpinning ecosystem functioning, biogeochemical cycling, and socio-economic development. Anthropogenic climate change (i.e., climate change attributable to human activity, as distinct from natural climatic variability), driven primarily by greenhouse gas emissions and land-use change, is exerting significant pressure on the global hydrological cycle, resulting in increased hydroclimatic variability, intensification of extreme hydrometeorological events, and progressive degradation of freshwater quality and availability. This review synthesizes recent scientific evidence on climate-induced impacts on water systems together with emerging adaptation and resilience strategies. The analysis is based on a systematic assessment of 100 peer-reviewed studies indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (2010–2025) and synthesized following a PRISMA-informed (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) narrative review protocol. Beyond confirming well-established trends in precipitation regimes, cryospheric decline, increasing evapotranspiration, and the growing frequency of droughts and floods, this review quantifies the magnitude of these changes across the reviewed literature, including an approximately 134% increase in flood-related disasters since 1980 and a 29% increase in drought duration since 2000. More importantly, it provides an integrated synthesis that links physical climate impacts with adaptation strategies and socio-ecological resilience frameworks within a unified analytical perspective, thereby complementing previous domain-specific reviews that have generally examined these dimensions separately. Prominent adaptation pathways identified across the reviewed literature include nature-based solutions, integrated water resources management frameworks, and the deployment of digital water technologies. In parallel, resilience is increasingly conceptualized as the adaptive capacity of socio-hydrological systems to absorb disturbances, reorganize, and transform under changing climatic conditions. The findings highlight the need to strengthen integrated and cross-sectoral water governance, enhance climate-informed decision-making, and expand monitoring and data infrastructures to improve long-term water security and socio-ecological resilience under accelerating climate change. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop