Journal profile · WATER RESOURCES
Journal of Water and Climate Change
ISSN 2040-2244 · eISSN 2408-9354 · IWA Publishing · ENGLAND
Journal of Water and Climate Change: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.65; fully open access; APC about USD 2,940; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 189 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Water and Climate Change is published by IWA Publishing and is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies, Climate variability and models and Flood Risk Assessment and Management, together about 44.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Global and Planetary Change. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Water and Climate Change is an international Open Access journal that publishes novel peer-reviewed research on the science, technology, and management of water in response to climate change, with an emphasis on the reduction of energy usage. "As climate change continues to alter the global water cycle - through shifts in precipitation patterns and evaporation rates, more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and other far-reaching impacts - ecosystems, economies, and communities worldwide face increasing threats. In Journal of Water and Climate Change, we aim to publish high-quality research on the impact of climate change and climate variability on hydrology and water resources, disseminating state-of-the-art information to the academic and industrial community, and supporting the development of effective adaptation strategies.” Professor D. Nagesh Kumar, Indian Institute of Science (Editor-in-Chief) We invite Research Articles and encourage State-of-Art Reviews and rigorous Case Studies demonstrating the application of innovative technologies and modelling approaches. The journal's scope includes: Water and Climate Change Science and Impact Detection and attribution of climate change in relation to water research Role of GCMs/RCMs in climate change impact assessment Uncertainty assessment in impact studies Remote sensing and GIS for climate change impact assessment Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus and Policy Water-energy-food-greenhouse gas nexus Policy and practice of adaptation and mitigation of climate change in the water sector Targets, technologies, and strategies for greenhouse gas emissions and energy reduction in the water sector Hydrology and Water Resources Hydrology (all aspects of hydrology, including urban hydrology, eco hydrology) Predictive modelling of water resources Extreme events (floods, droughts, temperature, compound extremes) Water management (includes surface water, groundwater, coastal water, water supply, water quality, water reuse) Agricultural water use Urban and Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change Urban planning addressing climate change Biodiversity conservation and ecosystems For informal guidance on whether your intended submission falls within the scope of the journal, please contact us at editorial@iwap.co.uk. Journal of Water and Climate Change is indexed and abstracted in leading databases, including American Chemical Society CASSI, ChronosHub, Dimensions (Digital Science), DOAJ, EBSCO Knowledge Bas
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): WATER RESOURCES
Editor-in-chief D. NageshPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 2, India 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Hydrology and Watershed Management StudiesEnvironmental Science19.3%
- Climate variability and modelsEnvironmental Science13%
- Flood Risk Assessment and ManagementEnvironmental Science12.3%
- Hydrology and Drought AnalysisEnvironmental Science10.8%
- Water resources management and optimizationEngineering5.9%
- Hydrological Forecasting Using AIEnvironmental Science5.7%
- Climate change impacts on agricultureAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.3%
- Water-Energy-Food Nexus StudiesEnvironmental Science3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.65LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.85LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 17LetPub ·
- h-index
- 58OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 897OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.74OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 183LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,021 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 126 | 126 | 64 |
| 2025 | 189 | 189 | 611 |
| 2024 | 319 | 319 | 2,332 |
| 2023 | 280 | 280 | 3,752 |
| 2022 | 199 | 199 | 3,157 |
| 2021 | 192 | 192 | 3,724 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 21 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,940 / GBP 2,205 / EUR 2,528 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- editorialSpecific article types available in each journal are listed in Editorial Manager at the point of submission.Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article Fully documented, interpreted account of significant findings of original research, including data and a critical analysis of the findings.Length not stated
- review articleReview Article Critical and comprehensive overview that provides new insights or interpretation of a subject.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, Plagiarism
- Authorship Author Contributions
ORCID and declarations required Model summary
As outlined in IWA Publishing’s Ethical Guidance (iwaponline.com/pages/Ethical_Guidance), to increase transparency, IWA Publishing encourages authors to include a full list of author contributions in their manuscripts. This can be included as an additional page as part of the submission items. It should be clearly stated how each author contributed to the research/paper. Please note that this is i…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
COPE member Model summary
IWA Publishing is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
CrossCheck plagiarism screening Model summary
To verify originality, your article may be checked by the originality detection service, CrossCheck: crossref.org/services/similarity-check/.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- IWA Publishing
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2040-2244
- Electronic ISSN
- 2408-9354
- Society / sponsor
- International Water Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 17, Issue 8 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Water and Climate Change
What CAS zone is Journal of Water and Climate Change in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Water and Climate Change is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Water Resources. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Water and Climate Change?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.65; CiteScore 6.8, h-index 58.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Water and Climate Change?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Water and Climate Change based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (2) and India (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Water and Climate Change?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Water and Climate Change is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Water and Climate Change open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Water and Climate Change is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,940.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, DOAJ, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .