Abstract/Summary

Climate change, population growth and human intervention within river channels and catchments make it more challenging than ever to provide reliable information on the current and future state of water in the world's rivers. Yet society urgently needs timely, dependable information for early warning of floods and droughts, which still today surprise and devastate entire communities. Scientific progress must accelerate to meet this challenge. This article argues that an Earth system approach to global hydrological prediction will spark the innovation and stronger interdisciplinary collaboration needed for breakthrough scientific progress.