Tracking reservoir warming in a changing climate: A 31-year study from Czechia

Freshwater reservoirs are critical for water management but face increasing impacts from climate change, which alters their thermal regimes and affects ecosystem functions globally. In temperate regions, surface water temperatures have risen at rates often surpassing those of air temperature, driven by atmospheric warming, hydrological processes, and reservoir morphometry. However, long-term studies on reservoir-specific thermal responses, particularly short-term variability, remain scarce. An important question is how environmental drivers influence both long-term warming trends and daily thermal fluctuations in managed water bodies. Here we show that over 31 years (1991-2021), surface water temperatures in 35 Czech reservoirs increased by an average of 0.59 °C per decade, with air temperature, altitude, and retention time as primary predictors of mean temperatures. A novel corrected metric for day-to-day variability (DTDV) revealed that inflow rate, depth, and retention time strongly influence short-term fluctuations, and DTDV trends positively correlated with warming rates, indicating linked drivers of thermal reorganization. Seasonal patterns showed strongest warming in April, with an anomaly of minimal change in May, likely tied to regional climatic shifts. These findings elucidate climate-driven thermal dynamics in reservoirs, highlighting the interaction of climatic and local factors. By combining statistical modeling with process-based indicators, this study informs adaptive strategies to mitigate impacts on water quality, stratification, and biodiversity under changing climates.