Rivers
The figure(s) below are from 2013 draft US National Climate Assessment.
Rivers Discharge 48-04 - Dai+ 1108
from Dai's "Rivers Discharge, 1948-2004 - Dai 1108".
Vobs is the river volume, in cubic kilometers per year, at the station indicated.
bobs is the trend per year over the 1945-2005 period. Bold is statistically significant. Negative is decreasing flow trend.
Articles
Drought Threatens to Snarl Mississippi River Traffic for 3rd Year 0324
Parched Rivers, Withered Crops Show Dire Impact of Amazon Drought 1123
In Brazil’s Amazon, Rivers Fall to Record Low Levels during Drought 1023
Record-Low Mississippi and Ohio River Levels 1023
Climate Triage Means Some Cold Waters In Warming Great Lakes Won’t Be Saved 1023
Water Levels on the Mississippi River Are Plummeting for 2nd Year in a Row 0923
A Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River from Going Dry, for Now 0523
The Oceans Are Missing Their Rivers. Dam! 0523
Satellites Show Climate Change Thinning Rivers, Erasing Glaciers 1122
Shrunken Mississippi River Slows US Food Exports When World Needs Them Most 1122
The Mississippi River and Its Tributaries Have Dropped to Record Lows 1022
Battle of the Alps? Water Woes Loom amid Climate Change 1022
The World’s Biggest Source of Clean Energy Is Evaporating Fast 1022
How It Looks as Drought Strangles the Mighty Mississippi 1022
Mighty Mississippi Is So Low, People Are Walking to Tower Rock Island 1022
Mississippi Barge Crisis Set to Deepen as Ohio River Now Sees Backups 1022
Drought, Climate Change Are Drying Up North America’s Bodies of Water 1022
Drifting Toward Disaster - the (2nd) Rio Grande 0922
Could the Drying Up of Europe’s Great Rivers Be the New Normal? 0922
The World’s Rivers, Canals, and Reservoirs Are Turning to Dust 0822
China Drought Causes Yangtze to Dry Up, Sparking Hydropower Shortage 0822
China's Fragile Economy Is Being Hammered by Driest Riverbeds since 1865 - 0822
China’s Record Drought Is Drying Rivers and Feeding Its Coal Habit 0822
Europe’s Rhine River Is on the Brink of Effectively Closing 0822
Source of River Thames Dries Out ‘for 1st Time’ during Drought 0822
The Vanishing Rio Grande – Warming Takes Its Toll 0622
The Paraná River, South America’s Economic Lifeline, Is Shriveling 0921
60% of World’s Rivers Stop Flowing for at Least One Day a Year 0621
Climate Change Is Altering Rivers around the World 0321
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River Flows All Across the Globe Are Dropping 1019
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Declining Snow Cover in U.S. Northeast Will Have Major Impacts on Rivers 1120
Australia’s Inland Rivers, Pulse of the Outback, to Be Unrecognizable by 2070 - 0920
Climate Change Has Stolen over a Billion Tons of Water from the Colorado River 0220
The World's Supply of Fresh Water Is in Trouble, as Mountain Ice Vanishes 1219
Thirst Turns to Anger as Australia's Mighty River Runs Dry 1019
1st-Ever Mandatory Water Cutbacks to Start Next Year along the Colorado River 0819
Scientists Warn of Lower Water Supply due to Melting Glaciers after 2060 - 1118
A Hot Drought' - Warming Is Driving Much of the Colorado River's Decline 0918
Catastrophic' Floods Rising on Amazon River 0918
Rising CO2 Is Affecting Freshwater 3 Times Faster than Saltwater 0118
Ganges under Threat from Climate Change 1017
China Diverts 10 Billion Cubic Meters of Water to Arid North, in Massive Project 1017
Tagus River, Spain’s Longest, at Risk of Drying Up Completely 0817
How Climate Change Might Affect the Nile 0817
Billion-Dollar Dams Are Making Water Shortages, Not Solving Them 0617
Western Water Crunch Has Climate Change Fingerprints 0417
Parched Lanzhou, China Plans to Pipe Water 1,000 Km from Russia’s Lake Baikal 0317
Congo Risks 50% Power Drop, due to Low Rainfall, Record Low Congo River 0317
Source of Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers Drying Up 0317
Global Warming Is Shrinking Colorado River, Vital to 40 Million People 0217
Montana’s Rivers Are Warmer than They Should Be - Bad News for Trout 0716
Wildlife Dying En Masse as South American River Runs Dry 0716
India to ‘Divert Rivers' to Tackle Drought 0516
Lao Hydro Dam to Seriously Affect Vietnam’s Mekong Delta 1214
Clear Skies Could Empty Rivers 1014
Climate Change Reflected in Altered Missouri River Flow, USGS Says 0814
Rio Grande May Hit 40-Year Low 0414
River Thames Breaks January Records for Water Flows 0214
Could Weakening Winds Threaten Pacific Northwest's Mountain Water Supply? 1213
With Tar Sands Development, Growing Concern on Water Use 0813
Russia Evacuates 19,000 from Flooded Far East 0813
Ecologists Link Far East Floods to Global Warming 0813
Warming Bad for Life in Freshwater Lakes and Rivers 0613
Canada's 'Northern Amazon' on the Brink 0613
Climate Change Impact on Stream Flow Varies by Location 0213
Engineers Clear Rocks from Dried Mississippi 1212
Water Piped to Denver Could Ease Stress on River 1212
Mississippi River Drops to 3 Feet 1212
Mississippi River Faces Shipping Freeze as Water Levels Drop 1212
Climate Change to Reduce US Southwest Water Supply 0411
Mean Monthly Ganges Discharge 1210.webarc
Earth's Water Cycle is Changing Rapidly 1010
Floods and Mudslides on 3 Continents 0810
Climate Change Impact on Stream Flow Varies by Location 0213
Dai's 1108 graphs above show that flows in the Ganges/Brahmaputra and Mekong Rivers approach zero (8% of peak) during the dry season. The Indus, Yellow, Salween, and Irawaddy Rivers face similar problems. All depend heavily on monsoon rains, but during the dry season on meltwater from the Himalayas. The same can be said, but more weakly, of the Changjiang (Yangtze River). This makes them vulnerable to running out of water during years when flow is low, or when Himalayn glaciers vanish.
Flows also are very low (4-8% of peak) in the Yenisey and Lena rivers, during the frozen season. Flows change more for the Orinoco River between the rainy and dry seasons than they do for the Amazon. Flows in the Congo and Parana Rivers are not very sensitive to season, and Amazon flows only somewhat more sensitive.
Typical monthly river basin precipitation and flows for the world's 10 largest rivers, by volume.
Left axis is for flows, right axis for precipitation.
Year-to-year variability ranges from 6:1 for the Uruguay River and 3:1 for the Mississippi, Niger and Xi Rivers, to 1.4:1 for the Amazon River. Years with low water flows in some rivers leave them at risk of running dry.
Dai's graphs below show annual discharge into the world's ocean basins. Discharge into the Arctic Ocean rose, while into the Pacific and Indian Oceans it fell.
River Runoff & Evaporate - Dai 1202 - PDF
from Changing Northeast Climate - UCS 1006, for Northeast US
Section Map: Water