Est. 2014 · Independent research center

Studying the quiet ties between water, climate and human life.

CHNS brings together hydrologists, climate scientists, geographers and policy specialists to investigate how water systems shape societies — and how societies can shape water systems back.

120+
Peer-reviewed papers
38
Active projects
24
Partner institutions
9
Countries of fieldwork
What we work on

Three interwoven research strands

All themes

Hydro-climate systems

Understanding how rainfall, rivers and groundwater interact under a changing climate.

Water security

Governance, access and allocation of freshwater across scales from household to basin.

Climate adaptation

Co-designing locally-grounded responses to flooding, drought and shifting seasonality.

Latest news

From the field & the desk

Briefings, fieldnotes and recent press from across our programmes.

All news
Jun 2026

New open dataset: river discharge gauges, 2010–2025

May 2026

CHNS joins the Asia Water-Climate Research Network

Apr 2026

Fieldnotes: monsoon flood surveys in the Bengal delta