Articles | Volume 29, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2749-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2749-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
02 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 02 Jul 2025
| 02 Jul 2025
Drought decreases annual streamflow response to precipitation, especially in arid regions
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Raed Hamed
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Manuela I. Brunner
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Climate Change, Extremes and Natural Hazards in Alpine Regions Research Center CERC, Davos Dorf, Switzerland
Marlies H. Barendrecht
Department of Geography, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
Anne F. Van Loon
Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Cited
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Impact of Hydrometeorological and Climatic Pressures on Greek Rivers: Implementation into the Water Framework Directive 2000/60 A. Mentzafou et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology13090232
- Assessing meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological drought characteristics, trends, propagation, and their implications for sustainable livestock grazing management in a semiarid catchment R. Kavishe et al. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2026.510
- How extreme are transitions in streamflow? A conditional probability approach B. Anderson et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6d19
- Uncertainty, temporal variability, and influencing factors of empirical streamflow sensitivities S. Gnann et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-779-2026
- Widespread drought-driven declines in streamflows and water quality in the Upper Colorado River Basin during 1998-2022 E. Nagamoto et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03890-5
- Spatiotemporal evolution and meteorological–hydrological coupling of drought–flood abrupt alternation events in the Yangtze River Basin during 1980–2024 Z. Zhu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2026.08.006
- Impacts of Mediterranean snow droughts on mountain socio-ecohydrology F. Avanzi et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-5769-2026
- What is a drought-to-flood transition? Pitfalls and recommendations for defining consecutive hydrological extreme events B. Anderson et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6069-2025
- Improving annual streamflow estimates using Budyko parameterization driven by catchment attributes H. Tamiru et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydroa.2026.100216
- Hydrological response to drought-flood and flood-drought transitions in the Geul River basin, Netherlands S. Hariharan Sudha et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103727
- Analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and attribution of streamflow in the Huangshui River Basin X. Tan et al. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2026.387
- Hydraulic response of a river reach supplying urban water under extreme drought conditions L. Dias et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103642
- Reaction of Minimum Streamflow of Arid Kazakhstan Rivers to Climate Non-Stationarity M. Moldakhmetov et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology13020062
- Ecological risk assessment and delineation of priority management zones in the Qilian Mountains, Northwest China, under compound climate extremes G. Gao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.114833
- Water Quality Assessment and Pollution Control of Urban Road Stormwater Runoff in Arid Regions: A Case Study of Yinchuan, China S. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094544
- Modeling Daily River Discharge Using Machine Learning Ensembles in the Context of Climate Change: Application To the zhaiyk-caspian basin, Kazakhstan S. Alimkulov et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-025-00858-x
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Impact of Hydrometeorological and Climatic Pressures on Greek Rivers: Implementation into the Water Framework Directive 2000/60 A. Mentzafou et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology13090232
- Assessing meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological drought characteristics, trends, propagation, and their implications for sustainable livestock grazing management in a semiarid catchment R. Kavishe et al. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2026.510
- How extreme are transitions in streamflow? A conditional probability approach B. Anderson et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae6d19
- Uncertainty, temporal variability, and influencing factors of empirical streamflow sensitivities S. Gnann et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-779-2026
- Widespread drought-driven declines in streamflows and water quality in the Upper Colorado River Basin during 1998-2022 E. Nagamoto et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03890-5
- Spatiotemporal evolution and meteorological–hydrological coupling of drought–flood abrupt alternation events in the Yangtze River Basin during 1980–2024 Z. Zhu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2026.08.006
- Impacts of Mediterranean snow droughts on mountain socio-ecohydrology F. Avanzi et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-5769-2026
- What is a drought-to-flood transition? Pitfalls and recommendations for defining consecutive hydrological extreme events B. Anderson et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6069-2025
- Improving annual streamflow estimates using Budyko parameterization driven by catchment attributes H. Tamiru et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydroa.2026.100216
- Hydrological response to drought-flood and flood-drought transitions in the Geul River basin, Netherlands S. Hariharan Sudha et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103727
- Analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and attribution of streamflow in the Huangshui River Basin X. Tan et al. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2026.387
- Hydraulic response of a river reach supplying urban water under extreme drought conditions L. Dias et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103642
- Reaction of Minimum Streamflow of Arid Kazakhstan Rivers to Climate Non-Stationarity M. Moldakhmetov et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology13020062
- Ecological risk assessment and delineation of priority management zones in the Qilian Mountains, Northwest China, under compound climate extremes G. Gao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.114833
- Water Quality Assessment and Pollution Control of Urban Road Stormwater Runoff in Arid Regions: A Case Study of Yinchuan, China S. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094544
- Modeling Daily River Discharge Using Machine Learning Ensembles in the Context of Climate Change: Application To the zhaiyk-caspian basin, Kazakhstan S. Alimkulov et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-025-00858-x
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 22 Sep 2026
Short summary
Persistent droughts change how rivers respond to rainfall. Our study of over 5000 catchments worldwide found that hydrological and soil moisture droughts decrease river-flow response to rain, especially in arid regions, while vegetation decline slightly increases it. Snow-covered areas are more resilient due to stored water buffering changes. Droughts can also cause long-lasting changes, with short and intense droughts reducing river response to rainfall and prolonged droughts increasing it.
Persistent droughts change how rivers respond to rainfall. Our study of over 5000 catchments...
