Satellite altimetry reveals intensifying global river water level variability
River water levels (RWLs) are fundamental to hydrology, water resource management, and disaster mitigation, yet the majority of the world's rivers remain ungauged. Here, using 46,993 virtual stations from Sentinel-3A/B altimetry (2016‒2024), we present a global assessment of RWL variability. We find a median global fluctuation of 3.76 m, with pronounced spatial patterns: significant RWL declines across Central North/South America and Western Siberia, and increases across Africa, Oceania, Eastern/Southern Asia, and Northwestern/Central Europe. Seasonality is intensifying in 68% of basins, as high RWLs become more temporally concentrated. Maximum RWLs are declining by 0.88 cm/yr, while minimum RWLs are rising by 1.43 cm/yr. This convergence is reducing seasonal amplitude globally, with the most pronounced changes in the Americas and Central Africa. These shifts coincide with a recent surge in extreme RWL events, particularly after 2021, signaling growing hydrological instability amid concurrent droughts and floods. Our findings underscore the urgent need for adaptive water management in response to accelerating climate pressures.
Authors
- Jean‐François Crétaux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4038-7719)
- Qi Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0223-5730)
- Chenqi Fang
- Fabrice Papa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6305-6253)
- Di Long (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9033-5039)
- Colin Joseph Gleason (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3525-6220)
- Frédéric Frappart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4661-8274)
- Chunhong Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1292-9370)
- H. Liu
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Universidade de Brasília (BR)
- Amherst College (US)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CN)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie (FR)
- China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (CN)
- Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble (FR)
- Unité mixte de recherche Œnologie (FR)
- Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China (CN)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-12-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67682-9
- Primary Topic
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China