On April 10, 2025, a workshop of DEEPHY (Deep Explanation & Evaluation for Practices in Hydrological Changes) Working Group of the International Hydrological Decade HELPING (Hydrology Engaging Local People IN one Global world) of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) was held in Beijing. A total of 26 participants, including Professor WANG Yi and Professor Daniel Haberly from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, Professor MO Xingguo and Professor LIU Suxia from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the meeting. The workshop was chaired by Professor LIU Suxia.   

After the welcome speech, Professor LIU Suxia introduced the background of the DEEPHY Working Group of the HELPING program and its example advances, including the interpretation of polar drift in the 1990s by terrestrial water storage changes. Professor WANG Yi displayed the synchronous droughts and floods in the Southern Chinese Loess Plateau since 1646 CE in phase with decadal solar activities data. A number of other hot issues, such as the driving factors of flash floods in different zones, the attribution method to the decline of groundwater storage, the evolution of global sea level fingerprints, and the response of vegetation to droughts, were deeply discussed by the participants. 

Since 2003, the IAHS has launched two successive International Hydrological Decades, namely PUB (2003-2012) and Panta Rhei (2013-2022). The new International Hydrological Decade (IHD) HELPING will focus on finding practical solutions to the global water crisis over the decade from 2023 to 2032, with a number of special Working Groups initialized. Among them, the DEEPHY Working Group was proposed and led by Professor LIU. It is committed to the "three deeps", that is, to deeply explore the explanatory factors of hydrological changes, deeply evaluate the impact of hydrological changes, and find strategies to thoroughly solve local water problems. Currently DEEPHY has nearly 100 members from more than 20 countries. In more detail, please see https://iahs.info/Initiatives/Scientific-Decades/helping-working-groups/deep-explanation--evaluation-for-practices-in-hydrological-changes-deephy/. 

The Department of Geography of the University of Sussex and the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences has maintained a long-term friendly and cooperative relation. This visit to Beijing will bring more opportunities between the two sides.