Systematic Review of Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing in Assessing Climate‐Induced Water Resource Scarcity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate change intensifies extreme precipitation, raises temperatures, and disrupts hydrological regimes, placing growing pressure on water resources. Remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) are widely used to monitor hydrological processes; however, many studies address isolated components of the water cycle, limiting a comprehensive understanding of climate‐driven water scarcity. This systematic review evaluates the application of RS and GIS in assessing climate‐related water resource decline. Using the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, it is found that there are 2034 publications from 2016 to 2025 in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, and 319 peer‐reviewed articles were suitable for detailed analysis. Bibliometric and keyword time‐overlay analyzes using VOSviewer reveal evolving research themes and methodological convergence. Findings show strong links between thematic focus and water resource type, a shift toward data‐driven methods, including machine learning and cloud platforms such as Google Earth Engine, and persistent challenges in cross‐scale transferability and linking observed depletion to climatic indicators. This review is the first to apply PRISMA 2020 to the GIS/RS + climate + water scarcity axis, integrate bibliometric clustering analysis with chi‐square testing, and map methodological differences across scales. It also addresses a gap in the literature by presenting a comprehensive synthesis that examines climate change, water scarcity, and GIS/RS methodology together within a single systematic framework across different water resource types and spatial scales.