- Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands (s.hariharansudha-1@tudelft.nl)
Climate change-induced fluctuations in the hydrological cycle are expected to increase the frequency of hydrological extremes and the transitions between them, namely, drought-flood and flood-drought transitions. While much research has focused on these events individually, their interactions remain less explored despite significant implications for water management, requiring a balance between water availability and safety.
This study investigates the interplay of hydro-meteorological drivers—precipitation (P), temperature (T), and streamflow (Q)—during drought-flood and flood-drought transitions across selected catchments in Europe with diverse climates, using long-term observational datasets. Drought and flood events are defined based on extreme wet and dry meteorological conditions (extending the methodology developed in Hariharan Sudha et al., 2024), and the duration and magnitude of their hydro-meteorological characteristics are quantified. The analysis examines how an opposite hydrological event as a precondition influences the propagation speed, timing, and severity of the subsequent event compared to events without a precondition. Propagation speed is assessed by the time lag between meteorological (P/T) and hydrological (Q) drivers of events, while correlations between the hydro-meteorological characteristics of successive events are used to evaluate the severity of transitions.
Through this study, regional patterns and trends in the propagation, timing, and severity of drought-flood and flood-drought transitions are identified, highlighting the role of climate and catchment characteristics in shaping these dynamics. The findings provide a basis for understanding hydrological transitions under future climate scenarios, contributing to improved risk assessment and adaptive water resource management.
Reference:
Hariharan Sudha S, Ragno E, Morales-Nápoles O and Kok M (2024) Investigating meteorological wet and dry transitions in the Dutch Meuse River basin. Front. Water 6:1394563. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1394563
How to cite: Sudha, S. H., Ragno, E., van der Ent, R., and Morales Nápoles, O.: Interactions Between Hydrological Extremes: Analysing drought-flood and flood-drought transitions in Europe, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-11452, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-11452, 2025.
