(Feature Image (Screenshot): Atmospheric rivers occur all over the world, as this animation of global satellite data from February 2017 shows. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)

A number of reports listed below this week throw fresh light on functioning of global water cycle, some of the findings should be seriously worrying. The studies show how the countries across the globe have water connections that go far beyond shared rivers, lakes and seas. And how these components of global water cycles are not only changing, but are under unprecedented stress and could take the global water cycles off balance.

Another study about atmospheric rivers that provides some of the largest high intensity rainfalls show that these rivers are shifting, which can have far reaching consequences for large sub-tropical areas, polar areas and others. For understanding their implications, more studies particularly focusing on shifting El Nino and La Nina streams are required.