Increasing wildfire activity has led to complex ecosystem consequences, with direct effects on the subsystems that affect the presence and movement of water. Although studies have investigated the cascading effects of wildfires on the water balance, our understanding of broad-scale groundwater modifications post fire remains unclear. This review aims to elucidate fire-induced shifts in the water balance, their causal factors, and their potential effects on groundwater recharge. By scrutinizing prior research examples that modeled post-fire recharge scenarios, the review highlights persistent knowledge gaps. The challenge of quantifying and integrating fire-induced alterations in precipitation, wind, and land temperature patterns into recharge projection models is specifically addressed. Despite these gaps, post-fire values of hydrologically meaningful parameters such as leaf area index (LAI), curve number (CN), and near-surface saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_ST) have been identified. Simulating post-fire recharge via the extrapolation of these values requires the consideration of site-specific conditions, vegetation recovery, and ash removal. It frequently results in a reduced interception and increased surface runoff, while evapotranspiration remains dependent on site-specific factors and often dictates groundwater recharge estimates. Although post-fire recharge simulations are inherently complex and imprecise, their growing application can guide land-use alterations and support policy implementation that considers fire-induced water availability changes.

The Santa Cruz department in Bolivia is characterized by a wide range of ecosystems and by its richness in water resources. In recent years, extended drought caused by climate change has led to extensive fire events. Combined with deforestation, this is resulting in the degradation of the region’s ecosystems and water resources. To address restoration needs from both a land- and water-management perspective, this study proposes to prioritize restoration areas by applying a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) based on two main principles: (1) using the watershed as the main study unit and (2) involving stakeholders in the definition of priority watersheds. Local stakeholders selected criteria representing water resources, biophysical characteristics, land management, productive areas, and fire disaster threats, and reclassified the spatial information based on perceived importance. Different prioritization scenarios were developed and compared in a Google Earth Engine (GEE) application. Priority restoration areas largely depend on the weighting scheme. Focusing solely on past fires leads to prioritizing the south-east basins, while the conservation of the western watersheds becomes more important when increasing the weight of the water resources criteria. This study represents the first step in developing a participatory MCA tool at the watershed scale in Santa Cruz. Highlighting the impact of different prioritization criteria can support collective decision-making around land and watershed restoration.

This paper aims to further the growing discussion in climate change literature to incorporate indigenous perspectives which has been dominated by western ontologies thus far. A novel approach used in this paper is to investigate perceptions of climate change risks and seismic hazard risks. A case study was done in Dho Tarap Valley, Nepal, situated at 4080m elevation. Household surveys were used for data collection and 204 out of 220 households were surveyed. The results show that Dho Tarap is a homogenous, agro-pastoral Buddhist community. Locals believe that temperature has increased (81%) and there is less snow now than before (97%), but changes in rain patterns were less conclusive. Most locals did not understand what climate change meant conceptually (72%) but earthquakes were understood as a clear hazard risk. We find that gender was not statistically associated with tested variables such as climate change perception, earthquake risk perceptions. However, education was associated with awareness and risk perceptions whereas economic capacity was associated with adaptive behaviours against changes in weather indicators and climatic hazards. These results shed light into indigenous views of climate change and natural hazards. The contrasting perceptions of different types of risks suggest that approaches to communicate about adaptation should be hazard specific and consider local observations of climatic changes.

There are numerous studies of the impacts of climate-related natural hazards, such as droughts, heatwaves and wildfires, to water supply. These range from the global mapping of water scarcity to local-level evaluations of damages to production and distribution infrastructure. However, comprehensive and dynamic assessments of climate impacts to water supply that consider both fast (e.g., floods, landslides) and slow onset risks (e.g., drought) as well as changes in water consumption are still lacking, especially in regions perceived as “water-rich”.This study reviewed climate change impacts to water supply in northern temperate climates which, in recent years, have been exposed not only to multiple floods but also to seasonal droughts despite predicted increases in average precipitation. By adopting an extended risk framework, we developed a conceptual overview and visualization of the linkages between climate, water, and society in the context of Southern Sweden.The results highlight the multiple knowledge gaps in the Swedish water sector related to climate change uncertainties at local scales, compound and cascading risks, and the challenge of implementing adaptation measures in practice. When acknowledging intersectoral connections, the conceptualization becomes increasingly complex, emphasizing broader implications for a functional society as a whole.This research contributes to a sparse literature on the impacts of climate change to water supply in northern regions. We argue that conceptual and systemic approaches can benefit water utilities and municipalities where drought risk tends to be overlooked and discuss possible venues for moving adaptation forward.

Water supply is one of the critical services that can be disrupted by climate-related disasters. Floods and droughts, in particular, can cause damages to infrastructure and alterations of water source quality and availability. In the Nordic water sector, concern about climate risks has been growing due to the successive dry summers from 2016 to 2018, major flooding events in 2023, various heavy rainfall events, as well as projections that floods and seasonal droughts could become more frequent and intense in many regions. Knowledge from past events is essential to prepare for potential climate impacts. However, learning opportunities are currently limited as small local impacts to water supply are rarely reported in national and global databases. This study examined climate impacts to water supply in Sweden, in the period 2010-2024. Drawing from reports by regional authorities, local surveys, and media articles, we mapped the occurrence of flood and drought events throughout the country and compiled both the impacts to water supply and post-event evaluations of the disaster response. The results indicate that past climate hazards have led to impacts ranging from sewage pipe breaks and inundated pump stations to poor raw water quality and low surface- and ground-water levels. Disruptions of drinking water services have been minor and manageable, while interruptions affecting consumers, such as water use restrictions or water boil advisories have generally been brief and of a preventive nature. However, regarding disaster management, official reports reveal a lack of hydrological knowledge, the absence of a big-picture understanding during events, and insufficient coordination with neighbor regions and across governance levels. These results concur with previous findings that societal impacts to drinking water supply have, so far, been limited in the Nordic region. Nonetheless, impacts are expected to become more serious in the future due to climate change and challenges in crisis management. This underscores the importance of building robust impact and response databases to support water managers in improving disaster preparedness and ensuring the continued security of safe drinking water supplies.