THE NEW AQUEDUCT WATER RISK ATLAS

The World Resources Institute (WRI) updated the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas to version 3.0 in August 2019. The update introduces a new hydrological model (PCR-GLOBWB 2.0) that incorporates groundwater resources and provides 144 times higher spatial resolution than the previous GLDAS-2 model. The Water Risk Framework was revised by removing four indicators, updating eight, and adding five new ones. Additionally, the tool transitioned from the Global Drainage Basin Database to HydroBASINS level 6 sub-basins to improve alignment with other water risk tools and provide more homogeneous sub-basin sizes. These changes affect the calculation of key metrics, including overall water risk and baseline water stress, which now account for both surface and groundwater supplies and use daily historical data from January 1960 to December 2014.

• The Aqueduct 3.0 Water Risk Framework was modified by removing four indicators that provided limited value, updating eight indicators to improve actionable insights, and adding five new indicators for a more comprehensive overview.
• The transition to the PCR-GLOBWB 2.0 hydrological model allows for the inclusion of groundwater resources in water supply estimates and increases spatial resolution from a 1x1 degree grid to a 5x5 arc minute grid, representing a 144-fold increase in resolution.
• Aqueduct 3.0 utilizes higher temporal resolution by using historic daily data from January 1960 until December 2014, aggregated to monthly scores, whereas Aqueduct 2.1 used only one year (2010) for water demand.
• The tool now uses HydroBASINS level 6 sub-basins instead of the Global Drainage Basin Database, which provides more homogeneous sub-basin sizes and greater alignment with other water risk tools.
• The updated baseline water stress indicator now explicitly includes both surface and groundwater supplies and considers the impact of large dams and upstream consumptive water users on downstream availability.

APA

World Resources Institute (2019). THE NEW AQUEDUCT WATER RISK ATLAS. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/aqueduct-whats-new.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. THE NEW AQUEDUCT WATER RISK ATLAS. 2019. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/aqueduct-whats-new.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=THE NEW AQUEDUCT WATER RISK ATLAS |date=August 2019 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/aqueduct-whats-new.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2019new, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{THE NEW AQUEDUCT WATER RISK ATLAS}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2019}, month = aug, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/aqueduct-whats-new.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }