New research by two US Universities finds “shockingly” fast changes to flows of Earth’s 3 million or so rivers. The research, reported by CNN, found that nearly half of the world’s largest downstream rivers — 44% — saw a drop in the amount of water flowing through them each year.
Hannah Cloke, a hydrology professor at the University of Reading who was not involved in the study, said the research’s wide focus to include even the smallest rivers was important.
“Some of the most deadly floods are not necessarily on the big rivers that you might expect,” she told CNN. “Instead they are linked to small or even usually dry rivers that suddenly fill up with water and sweep away people, cars and buildings.”
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The next step is to unpick exactly why these river flows are altering so rapidly and work out how to respond.
“There is a direct link between human activity and the changes to our life-giving water cycle,” Cloke told CNN. Protecting rivers means burning far fewer fossil fuels, adapting to changes already locked in and responding to knock-on impacts of human actions, such as altering river channels and building on flood plains, she added.
“Rivers are dynamic and beautiful beasts,” Cloke said, “and humans should never take them for granted or squander the resources they provide us with.”