Runoff Prediction in the Xiangxi River Basin Under Climate Change: The Application of the HBV-XGBoost Coupled Model

Global warming has made water resources more uneven in space and time, making water management harder. This study used the HBV-XGBoost model to see how climate change affects runoff in the Xiangxi River Basin. The HBV model simulated water processes, and XGBoost improved predictions by handling complex relationships. This study used the SDSM to create climate data for 2025–2100 and looked at runoff trends under different emission scenarios. The HBV-XGBoost model performed better than the HBV model in simulating runoff. Future predictions showed big differences in runoff trends under various SSP scenarios in the 2040s and 2080s. For example, under SSP585, the ACCESS-CM2 model projected a May runoff increase from 1527.52 m3/s to 2344.42 m3/s by the 2080s, and ACCESS-ESM1-5 projected an increase from 1462.11 m3/s to 2889.58 m3/s. All GCMs predicted a large rise in annual runoff under SSP585 by the 2080s, with FGOALS-g3 showing the highest growth rate of 76.54%. The model accurately simulated runoff changes and provided useful insights for adapting water management to climate change. However, this study has limitations, including uncertainties in machine learning models, potential input data biases, and varying applicability under different conditions. Future work should explore more climate models and downscaling methods to improve accuracy and consider local policies to better address climate impacts on water resources.