Rising rainfall intensity induces spatially divergent hydrological changes within a large river basin

Yiping Wu, Xiaowei Yin, Guoyi Zhou (), L. Adrian Bruijnzeel, Aiguo Dai, Fan Wang, Pierre Gentine, Guangchuang Zhang, Yanni Song and Decheng Zhou
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Yiping Wu: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Xiaowei Yin: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Guoyi Zhou: Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
L. Adrian Bruijnzeel: King’s College London
Aiguo Dai: University at Albany, State University of New York
Fan Wang: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Pierre Gentine: Columbia University
Guangchuang Zhang: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Yanni Song: Shaanxi Land Engineering Construction Group Co. Ltd and Xi’an Jiaotong University
Decheng Zhou: Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Droughts or floods are usually attributed to precipitation deficits or surpluses, both of which may become more frequent and severe under continued global warming. Concurring large-scale droughts in the Southwest and flooding in the Southeast of China in recent decades have attracted considerable attention, but their causes and interrelations are not well understood. Here, we examine spatiotemporal changes in hydrometeorological variables and investigate the mechanism underlying contrasting soil dryness/wetness patterns over a 54-year period (1965–2018) across a representative mega-watershed in South China—the West River Basin. We demonstrate that increasing rainfall intensity leads to severe drying upstream with decreases in soil water storage, water yield, and baseflow, versus increases therein downstream. Our study highlights a simultaneous occurrence of increased drought and flooding risks due to contrasting interactions between rainfall intensification and topography across the river basin, implying increasingly vulnerable water and food security under continued climate change.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44562-8

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