Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1038/s41586-026-10300-5
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Precipitation observing network gaps limit climate change impact assessment
Autor Su, J.; Miao, C.; Zwiers, F.; Beck, H.; Jones, P.; Sun, Q.; Slater, L.J.; Berghuijs, W.R.; Wada, Y.; Rosenfeld, D.; Gou, J.; Wu, Y.; Tarolli, P.; Borrelli, P.; Panagos, P.; Alexander, L.V.; Zhang, Q.; Hu, J.; Min, S.-K.; Samaniego, L. ORCID logo ; Duan, Q.; Destouni, G.; Marengo, J.A.; Modarres, R.; Sorooshian, S.
Quelle Nature
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
Department CHS
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Daten-/Softwarelinks https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-026-10300-5/MediaObjects/41586_2026_10300_MOESM4_ESM.csv
https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-026-10300-5/MediaObjects/41586_2026_10300_MOESM5_ESM.csv
https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41586-026-10300-5/MediaObjects/41586_2026_10300_MOESM6_ESM.csv
Supplements Supplement 1
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Abstract Reliable future climate projections and water deficiency assessments require precipitation observations that are both spatially comprehensive and temporally complete, yet many global regions still suffer from observation sparsity1,2. Here we evaluate the distribution of 221,483 internationally exchanged precipitation gauges worldwide, with records across 1900–2022, and further explore where new gauges are most needed under different scenarios. We find that at present only 13.4% of the global land surface meets the World Meteorological Organization requirements for annual precipitation monitoring, indicating widespread scarcity that has serious socioeconomic implications. Europe has the highest continental gauge density (2.4 gauges per 1,000 km2), with Germany leading among countries over 50,000 km2 (22.4 gauges per 1,000 km2). Globally, 25% of land surface already requires urgent expansion of gauge networks because of climate variability, including northern South America, northern North America, Central Africa and southern Asia. Considering projected precipitation changes and socioeconomic conditions under a high-emission scenario further identifies high-need regions in India, Greenland, Bolivia and China because of climate sensitivity and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, increasing this share to 32.1% of global land. Our findings highlight important gaps in global precipitation monitoring that require strategic investments in new gauges and underscore the need for open data access.
Su, J., Miao, C., Zwiers, F., Beck, H., Jones, P., Sun, Q., Slater, L.J., Berghuijs, W.R., Wada, Y., Rosenfeld, D., Gou, J., Wu, Y., Tarolli, P., Borrelli, P., Panagos, P., Alexander, L.V., Zhang, Q., Hu, J., Min, S.-K., Samaniego, L., Duan, Q., Destouni, G., Marengo, J.A., Modarres, R., Sorooshian, S. (2026):
Precipitation observing network gaps limit climate change impact assessment
Nature 10.1038/s41586-026-10300-5