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When rivers turn to deserts and deserts to rivers

Nature Water volume 3, page 124 (2025)Cite this article

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The Amazon basin has suffered severe droughts, the most recent of which has lasted since 20231, causing water levels to drop sharply, exposing bedforms and drying out riverbeds (Fig. 1a). Meanwhile, an extratropical cyclone hit the Sahara during September 2024, bringing unusually heavy rainfall that dotted the desert with ephemeral ponds and reactivated lakes that had been dry for decades2 (Fig. 1b). Different environments, same landscape. Opposite extremes, two sides of the same coin. Although such events are not unprecedented, climate change is currently disrupting natural weather patterns, leading to stronger and more frequent extremes.

Just as some colleagues hoped that a global event such as the Olympics would serve as a warning about water quality issues3, we may hope that these tangible signs of climate change, brought to the world's attention by alarming and striking photographs from two iconic places on Earth, could at least raise awareness of the fragility of our blue planet. Assuming there is still a need for such reminders. Indeed, like the Amazon and the Sahara, countless regions are facing the twin challenges of droughts and floods, in many cases amplified by anthropogenic stresses, including large-scale damming and land-use changes.

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Fig. 1: Two contrasting manifestations of climate-related extremes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), in the framework of the project DICAM-EXC (Departments of Excellence 2023–2027, grant L232/2016).

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  1. Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Sebastiano Piccolroaz & Niccolò Ragno

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  1. Sebastiano Piccolroaz
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  2. Niccolò Ragno
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Correspondence to Sebastiano Piccolroaz.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Piccolroaz, S., Ragno, N. When rivers turn to deserts and deserts to rivers. Nat Water 3, 124 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-00385-5

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