GRDC Review of 2025
GRDC Review of 2025
Dear users, colleagues and partners,
2025 was another eventful and productive year for us. GRDC relies on the relationship with data providers and their support for the database. We were able to significantly expand our global database, establish new partnerships and further develop our services. All for the benefit of hydrological and climatological research worldwide.
In the following you will find an overview of our annual highlights in 2025.
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Country Updates
Throughout 2025, we have received numerous data submissions to the Global Runoff Database. River discharge data from 43 countries were added, with most stations located in Canada, the US and Australia.
The database now comprises more than 11,000 measuring stations worldwide. It remains one of the most comprehensive runoff archives for hydrological and climate-related research.
Download statistics
In parallel, also the number of data requests from the data portal has constantly increased during the last years. In 2025, more than 12,000 downloads have been recorded from the GRDC data portal so far.
Downloads by country
Last year, data from the US and Russia was downloaded most frequently. In general, however, most of our users are interested in large-scale studies and request data from several countries at once.
Our users
In 2025, we have received data requests from more than 100 countries worldwide. Most of these came from China and the US. The majority of our users are from the academic sector and are working in the field of hydrometeorology and climate.
Data usage
The increase in downloads is reflected in the publication of scientific papers containing GRDC data. In recent years, more than 100 articles have been published annually. This number was also achieved in 2025.
Data collection for WMO report
Building on the success of the WMO State of the Global Water Resources Report in the last three years, GRDC has also supported the collection of discharge data for the 2024 report. The number of participating countries and stations could be increased to 60 and 2,777, respectively.
Projects
In 2025, we were also part of various international projects and scientific collaborations. We have further expanded the collaboration with the Institute of Geodesy of University of Stuttgart, which has resulted in a project dataset about space-based discharge. In March 2025, members of the ROBIN team (CEH) have visited us to discuss synergies and and long-term perspectives for a cooperation.
In 2025, GRDC has also started to support the GEWEX Hydroclimatology Panel (GHP) River Experiment (RivEx) Crosscutting initiative, which proposes a common strategy for comparing river models. In the framework of Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), the Global Terrestrial Network of River Discharge (GTN-R) has successfully completed the GCOS accreditation process and is recognized as a GCOS Affiliated Network.
Conferences
As part of our international activities, we were also able to successfully complete a number of outreach activities. GRDC members participated at several international conferences such as the Living Planet Symposium in Vienna, the SWOT Science Team Meeting in Arcachon, the EUMETSAT Climate Symposium in Darmstadt as well as the Second Regional Scientific Forum of WMO RA VI in Prague.
Publications
In addition, GRDC has been involved in the publication of different scientific articles. This includes two data description papers about the GRDC-Caravan extension and the BALTEX dataset. In addition, GRDC was involved in a review paper about the use of remote sensing to study the propagation of water in rivers.
Looking forward to the continuation of our cooperation
We at GRDC would like to express our sincere gratitude to our users and data providers. We are continuously working to improve relations with data providers for a better data exchange as well as to facilitate easier access to data and products to our users. GRDC is grateful for the high level of cooperation already achieved.
Together with the GRDC team, I personally wish you good health and all the best for 2026.
Simon Mischel
Picture credits: Title slide: https://www.welt-flaggen.de/ | Last slide: Curioso.Photography - stock.adobe.com
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