Embedded Files
The figure(s) below are from 2013 draft US National Climate Assessment.
Rivers Discharge 48-04 - Dai+ 1108.pdf
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
Articles
Drought, Water Rationing and Dry Rivers - Our Water Crisis Is Here 0826.rtf
Rhine River Shipping Stalls as Water Level Hits Record Low 0826.rtf
Fishing Closures Becoming Routine as Record Heat Warms Rivers in US West 0826.rtf
Rhine River Falls to Record Low Levels, as Drought Strains Europe's Rivers 0826.rtf
Colorado River Plan Requires Water Cuts for 3 States. Deeper Cuts Possible. 0726.rtf
Record Lows in Crucial Southwest Reservoirs Threaten Power, Water to Millions 0726.rtf
Danube Water Levels, Lowest in 30 Years, Hamper Farming and Shipping 0726.rtf
In Gambia, Salt Water Intrusion Is the Leading Edge of Climate Change 0726.rtfHimalayan Rivers Shift Course as Warming Climate Thaws ‘Water Tower of Asia’ 0626.rtfColorado River Faces Devastating Consequences If Another Dry Winter Land 0626.rtfRusting Rivers - Alarm Grows Over Uptick in Acidic Arctic Waters 0426.rtf - Rivers turn orange and toxic, from acid interacting with iron in streambed and watershed.Falling Amazon River Flows Trigger Reality Check at Belo Monte Power Plant 0326.rtf‘No Water, No Life’- Iraq’s Tigris River in Danger of Disappearing 1225.rtf - Iraq's rivers are drying up, partly climate and partly stacking up behind new dams in Turkey. What water remains concentrates various pollution from Iraq. Piped water is scarce in Iraq and people are hospitalized from pollution.Drying-Up Rio Grande Basin Threatens Water Security on Both Sides of Border 1125.rtfHow Climate Change Puts the Safety of Drinking Water at Risk 0225.rtfDrought Is Causing Saltwater to Creep up the Delaware River 1124.rtf - Rising sea level is another factor.Climate Warning as World’s Rivers Dry Up at Fastest Rate for 30 Years 1024.rtfDramatic Shrinking of Major Amazon Rivers 0924.rtf - including most tributariesThe Mississippi River Running Low Again Is Problem for Moving Beans and Grain 0924.rtfDrought-Hit Danube River Reveals Scuttled German World War II Ships 0924.rtfIn Brazil’s Worst Drought, Wildfires Rage and Amazon River Hits Record Low 0924.rtfHumans May Be Turning Rivers from Carbon Sinks into Carbon Sources 0624.rtfAlaskan Rivers Are Turning Orange. Climate Change Could Be to Blame. 0524.rtfDrought Threatens to Snarl Mississippi River Traffic for 3rd Year 0324.rtfParched Rivers, Withered Crops Show Dire Impact of Amazon Drought 1123.rtfIn Brazil’s Amazon, Rivers Fall to Record Low Levels during Drought 1023.rtfClick for moreRecord-Low Mississippi and Ohio River Levels 1023.rtfClimate Triage Means Some Cold Waters In Warming Great Lakes Won’t Be Saved 1023.rtfWater Levels on the Mississippi River Are Plummeting for 2nd Year in a Row 0923.rtfA Breakthrough Deal to Keep the Colorado River from Going Dry, for Now 0523.rtfThe Oceans Are Missing Their Rivers. Dam! 0523.rtfSatellites Show Climate Change Thinning Rivers, Erasing Glaciers 1122.rtfShrunken Mississippi River Slows US Food Exports When World Needs Them Most 1122.rtfBattle of the Alps? Water Woes Loom amid Climate Change 1022.rtfHow It Looks as Drought Strangles the Mighty Mississippi 1022.rtfThe World’s Biggest Source of Clean Energy Is Evaporating Fast 1022.rtfThe Mississippi River and Its Tributaries Have Dropped to Record Lows 1022.rtfDrought, Climate Change Are Drying Up North America’s Bodies of Water 1022.rtfMighty Mississippi Is So Low, People Are Walking to Tower Rock Island 1022.rtfMississippi Barge Crisis Set to Deepen as Ohio River Now Sees Backups 1022.rtfCould the Drying Up of Europe’s Great Rivers Be the New Normal? 0922.rtfDrifting Toward Disaster - the (2nd) Rio Grande 0922.rtfChina’s Record Drought Is Drying Rivers and Feeding Its Coal Habit 0822.rtfThe World’s Rivers, Canals, and Reservoirs Are Turning to Dust 0822.rtfChina's Fragile Economy Is Being Hammered by Driest Riverbeds since 1865 - 0822.rtfChina Drought Causes Yangtze to Dry Up, Sparking Hydropower Shortage 0822.rtfSource of River Thames Dries Out ‘for 1st Time’ during Drought 0822.rtfEurope’s Rhine River Is on the Brink of Effectively Closing 0822.rtfThe Vanishing Rio Grande – Warming Takes Its Toll 0622.rtfThe Paraná River, South America’s Economic Lifeline, Is Shriveling 0921.rtf60% of World’s Rivers Stop Flowing for at Least One Day a Year 0621.rtfClimate Change Is Altering Rivers around the World 0321.rtfDeclining Snow Cover in U.S. Northeast Will Have Major Impacts on Rivers 1120.rtfAustralia’s Inland Rivers, Pulse of the Outback, to Be Unrecognizable by 2070 - 0920.rtfClimate Change Has Stolen over a Billion Tons of Water from the Colorado River 0220.rtfThe World's Supply of Fresh Water Is in Trouble, as Mountain Ice Vanishes 1219.rtfThirst Turns to Anger as Australia's Mighty River Runs Dry 1019.rtfRiver Flows All Across the Globe Are Dropping 1019.rtf1st-Ever Mandatory Water Cutbacks to Start Next Year along the Colorado River 0819.rtfScientists Warn of Lower Water Supply due to Melting Glaciers after 2060 - 1118.rtf'Catastrophic' Floods Rising on Amazon River 0918.rtf'A Hot Drought' - Warming Is Driving Much of the Colorado River's Decline 0918.rtfRising CO2 Is Affecting Freshwater 3 Times Faster than Saltwater 0118.rtfGanges under Threat from Climate Change 1017.rtfChina Diverts 10 Billion Cubic Meters of Water to Arid North, in Massive Project 1017.rtfTagus River, Spain’s Longest, at Risk of Drying Up Completely 0817.rtfHow Climate Change Might Affect the Nile 0817.rtfBillion-Dollar Dams Are Making Water Shortages, Not Solving Them 0617.rtfWestern Water Crunch Has Climate Change Fingerprints 0417.rtfSource of Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers Drying Up 0317.rtfCongo Risks 50% Power Drop, due to Low Rainfall, Record Low Congo River 0317.rtfParched Lanzhou, China Plans to Pipe Water 1,000 Km from Russia’s Lake Baikal 0317.rtfGlobal Warming Is Shrinking Colorado River, Vital to 40 Million People 0217.rtfWildlife Dying En Masse as South American River Runs Dry 0716.rtfMontana’s Rivers Are Warmer than They Should Be - Bad News for Trout 0716.rtfIndia to ‘Divert Rivers' to Tackle Drought 0516.rtfLao Hydro Dam to Seriously Affect Vietnam’s Mekong Delta 1214.rtfClear Skies Could Empty Rivers 1014.rtfClimate Change Reflected in Altered Missouri River Flow, USGS Says 0814.rtfRio Grande May Hit 40-Year Low 0414.rtfCould Weakening Winds Threaten Pacific Northwest's Mountain Water Supply? 1213.rtfRiver Thames Breaks January Records for Water Flows 0214.rtfEcologists Link Far East Floods to Global Warming 0813.rtfRussia Evacuates 19,000 from Flooded Far East 0813.rtfWith Tar Sands Development, Growing Concern on Water Use 0813.rtfWarming Bad for Life in Freshwater Lakes and Rivers 0613.rtfCanada's 'Northern Amazon' on the Brink 0613.rtfClimate Change Impact on Stream Flow Varies by Location 0213.rtfMississippi River Drops to 3 Feet 1212.rtfEngineers Clear Rocks from Dried Mississippi 1212.rtfMississippi River Faces Shipping Freeze as Water Levels Drop 1212.rtfWater Piped to Denver Could Ease Stress on River 1212.rtfWorld Rivers Under Siege 1112.rtfClimate Change to Reduce US Southwest Water Supply 0411.rtfEarth's Water Cycle is Changing Rapidly 1010.rtfFloods and Mudslides on 3 Continents 0810.rtfRivers Discharge 48-04 - Dai+ 1108.pdfRiver Runoff & Evaporate 1202.pdfMean Monthly Ganges Discharge 1210.webarchive
Climate Change Impact on Stream Flow Varies by Location 0213.rtf
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.
Section Map: Water
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