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In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, the main goal of the Special Issue on "Remote sensing for water resources and environmental management" was to solicit papers from a diverse range of scientists around the world on the use of cutting-edge remote sensing technologies to assess and monitor freshwater quality, quantity, availability, and management to ensure water security. Special consideration was given to scientific manuscripts that covered, but were not limited to, the development of geospatial techniques and remote sensing applications for detecting, quantifying, and monitoring freshwater water resources, identifying potential threats to water resources and agriculture, as well as other themes related to water resources and environmental management at various spatial scales. The Special Issue attracted over thirteen peer-reviewed scientific articles, with the majority of manuscripts originating from China. Most of the studies made use of satellite datasets, ranging from coarse spatial resolution data, such as the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO), to medium spatial resolution data, such as the Landsat series, ERA5, Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application Land version 2 reanalysis product (MERRA2), CLSM and NOAH ET, and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). Google Earth Engine (GEE) data, together with big data processing techniques, such as the remote sensing-based energy balance model (ALEXI/DisALEXI approach) and the STARFM data fusion technique, were used for analyzing geospatial datasets. Overall, this Special Issue demonstrated significant knowledge gaps in various big data image processing techniques and improved computing processes in assessing and monitoring water resources and the environment at various spatial and temporal scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper critically examines the effects of climate change on the African continent and suggests ways in which the negative effects of climate change can be effectively combatted to ensure sustainable development. Although responsible for a small share of global climate change, Africa is the most vulnerable region of the world to climate change, which destroys the people's source of food, medication, shelter, and income, leading to poor nutrition and exposure to infectious diseases, more hospitalizations, less working hours, and heavy financial losses. Apart from global environmental deterioration, Africa is one of the regions of the world experiencing the severest droughts and water scarcity. The impact of all this on Africa's already fragile socio-economic and political structures is grave. Climate change threatens the political stability of the continent. In this paper we argue that the effects of climate change on the continent have been amplified by human choices and political ineptitude of the ruling elites in Africa. We maintain that good governance, the promotion of African traditional values that encourage the protection of the environment, paying attention to rural development and the emancipation of women economically and politically, and investing in alternative and renewable energy are the necessary pre-conditions for effectively mitigating the effects of climate change and ensuring sustainable development in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite huge differences in population, household income and development levels, Australia and Brazil have some temporal convergences in their water governance systems. Over the last 20 years, both countries have significantly reformed their water policies and practices by introducing a legal foundation for more integrated and participatory catchment/basin management based on the best information available. A critical test of any water reform is how effective it is in meeting the challenges of extreme and unpredictable conditions of drought and floods, which are expected to increase under climate changes scenarios. This paper compared the contemporary water governance frameworks of Australia and Brazil in relation to three elements of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM): integration, participation, and information/knowledge. We focused on insights from Brazil's recent drought and Australia's fluctuating water crises to derive lessons and recommendations for future changes. Among the main recommendations, we stress the need for both systems to improve effective participation and to embrace a more comprehensive approach to cope with water scarcity in future scenarios. Furthermore, water related decisions should be based on a transparent and well informed process, and take into account the lessons from similar situations worldwide in order to avoid unnecessary or ineffective measures. As demonstrated in the Australian case during the Millennium Drought, the most effective initiatives were those involving government, the private sector and society to achieve a more sustainable consumption pattern in all sectors. There is much to learn from the Brazilian and Australia experiences in water reforms and crises, but it is imperative to understand the social, economic and environmental context within which these took place. Continuing to develop the capacity and willingness of researchers and policy makers to work together can make an important contribution towards meeting the growing and spreading challenges in water resource management around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is anticipated to have a profound impact on drought occurrences, leading to detrimental consequences for the environment, socioeconomic relations, and ecosystem services. In order to evaluate the extent of drought impact, a comprehensive study was conducted in the Hyderabad–Karnataka region, India. Precipitation data from 31 stations spanning a 50-year period (1967–2017) were analyzed using the standardized precipitation index (SPI) based on gamma distribution. The findings reveal that approximately 15% of the assessed years of experienced drought conditions, with a range of influence between 41% and 76% under SPI_3, and between 43% and 72% under SPI_6. Examining the timescale magnitude frequency provided insights into variations in the severity of drought events across different locations and timescales. Notably, the Ballari (−8.77), Chitapur (−8.22), and Aland (−7.40) regions exhibited the most significant magnitudes of drought events for SPI_3 with a 5-year return period. The heightened risk of recurrent droughts in the study area emphasizes the necessity of integrating SPI in decision-making processes, as such integration can markedly contribute to the development of reliable and sustainable long-term water management strategies at regional and national levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the impact of climate change on terrestrial wet and dry changes and the relationship between the two is of great significance to the sustainable development of terrestrial ecosystems. The farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China (FPENC) is an area that is sensitive to climate change, suffering from perennial drought and a clear aridification trend. Unlike previous single-factor, single-timescale studies, we identified aridification in the region based on a dataset established by remote sensing and ground-based monitoring stations from a combination of two perspectives: climate and soil. The results show that, in terms of climate, the period from 2000 to 2019 was the driest in the region during the last 120 years , and the summer drought was the most severe and shifted from a summer to spring drought; in terms of soil, the soil aridification trend in the region was severe, with 16.1% of the areas becoming significantly drier (P < 0.1) among the years and 41.6% in spring, respectively. Similar to climate change, soils exhibited recessive aridification due to the counterbalancing effect of the dry and wet seasons within the year. Then the coupling relationship between climate change and soil aridification was established in time and space. Moreover, the spatiotemporal response patterns of both were obtained. The results showed that the frequency of soil drought under meteorological drought conditions showed an increasing trend and that the sensitivity of soil drought occurrence increased. Among them, the effect of precipitation on relative soil moisture (RSM) was immediate, and the effect of prolonged warming on RSM is greater. The area of soil aridification that was caused by climatic aridification in spring accounted for 13.7% of the entire area. The regional aridification research mode proposed in this paper can provide ideas for subsequent studies. [Display omitted] • A comprehensive judgment mode of the regional aridification combining climate elements, soil moisture was established. • Over the last 20 years, the central part of the FPENC showed overall warming and wetting of the climate. • Over the last 20 years, the trend of the soil aridification in the central part of the FPENC remained severe. • The counterbalancing effect of the dry and wet seasons leads to recessive aridification. • The sensitivity of the occurrences of soil drought to the climate drought anomalies continuously became stronger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All living organisms are affected by drought in terms of food and health. In the current scenario of drought and gradual change in climate that can result in water stress for terrestrial vegetation, droughtresistant plants should be sorted out. The objective of this study was to explore the growth behavior of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (recommended for waterlogged areas) and Tamarix aphylla (recommended for arid regions) under water stress. Therefore, a pot experiment was carried out with three treatments: Well-watered, 25% and 50 % drought to achieve said objective. It was found that drought negatively affected plant growth. The mean heights of E. camaldulensis and T. aphylla were maximum (38.16 and 34.7 cm, respectively) at control irrigation while minimum height was found (17.1 and 24.9 cm, respectively) at 50% drought. So, the reduction in plant height of E. camaldulensis was more (55.6%) as compared to T. aphylla (28.1%). The reduction in root length of both species was 19% and 9% respectively at 50 % drought. High drought stress (50%) resulted in a reduction of 49% and 38% dry matter in E. camaldulensis and T. aphylla respectively. The relative water contents (RWC) were more (71.5%) in E. Camaldulensis at the control level but significantly reduced (40%) at 50% stress while in T. aphylla less difference (52%-44%) was found in RWC. There was no significant difference found in diameter in both species. Though E. Camaldulensis could survive the periodic drought spells, however, the performance of T. aphylla was found better in this study. Consequently, research work is necessary to study Eucalyptus camaldulensis genetically and physiologically to bring modification in this plant that can make it less water demanding to conserve water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducted quantitative diagnosis on the impact of climate change and human activities on drought risk. Taking the Kuye river basin (KRB) in China as the research area, we used variation point diagnosis, simulation of precipitation and runoff, drought risk assessment, and attribution quantification. The results show that: (1) the annual runoff sequence of KRB changed significantly after 1979, which was consistent with the introduction of large-scale coal mining; (2) under the same drought recurrence period, the drought duration and severity in the human activity stage were significantly worse than in the natural and simulation stages, indicating that human activities changed the drought risk in this area; and (3) human activities had little impact on drought severity in the short duration and low recurrence period, but had a greater impact in the long duration and high recurrence period. These results provide scientific guidance for the management, prevention, and resistance of drought; and guarantee sustainable economic and social development in the KRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]