Global terrestrial water storage and drought severity under climate changeGlobal terrestrial water storage and drought severity under climate change Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2023-03-272021enTerrestrial water storage (TWS) modulates the hydrological cycle and is a key determinant of water availability and an indicator of drought. While historical TWS variations have been increasingly studied, future changes in TWS and the linkages to droughts remain unexamined. Here, using ensemble hydrological simulations, we show that climate change could reduce TWS in many regions, especially those in the Southern Hemisphere. Strong inter-ensemble agreement indicates high confidence in the projected changes that are driven primarily by climate forcing rather than land and water management activities. Declines in TWS translate to increases in future droughts. By the late twenty-first century, the global land area and population in extreme-to-exceptional TWS drought could more than double, each increasing from 3% during 1976–2005 to 7% and 8%, respectively. Our findings highlight the importance of climate change mitigation to avoid adverse TWS impacts and increased droughts, and the need for improved water resource management and adaptation.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Nature Climate Change113226–233Pokhrel_et_al_Nat. Clim. Change_11(3)_2021_postprint.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2023-03-27application/pdf6.0 MBfree Pokhrel, Yadu Felfelani Farshid Satoh Yusuke Boulange Julien Burek Peter Gädeke Anne Gerten, Dieter Gosling Simon N. Gryllakis Emmanouil Γρυλλακης Εμμανουηλ Gudmundsson Lukas Hanasaki Naota Kim Hyungjun Koutroulis Aristeidis Κουτρουλης Αριστειδης Liu Junguo Papadimitriou Lamprini Schewe Jacob Müller Schmied Hannes Stacke Tobias Telteu Camelia-Eliza Thiery Wim Veldkamp Ted Zhao Fang Wada Yoshihide Springer Nature Climate and Earth system modelling Climate-change impacts Hydrology Projection and prediction