Rising lake levels in central East Africa are driven by increasing rainfall and land-use intensification

On the 8th of October 2024, a paper on rising water levels in East Africa and its potential drivers of change was published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies.

Highlights

• Hotspots of hydrological change were identified across 375 lakes from 2000 to 2023.
• In total, lakes increased in surface area by 71,822 km2 and in volume by 1375.2 km3
• Water storage increased in central East Africa and declined in the south.
• Rising lake levels were driven by increasing rainfall and land-use intensification.
• Population growth caused observable declines in lakes across the Rift System.

Complete citation:

Aidan Byrne, Ken Norris, Michael A. Chadwick, Sean Avery, Lydia Olaka, Emma J. Tebbs, 2024. Rising lake levels in central East Africa are driven by increasing rainfall and land-use intensification, 56, 101999, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101999