Artificial intelligence for water management under climate change: A bibliometric and patent analysis

The world is facing significant issues in managing water resources due to water shortage and climate change. Artificial intelligence (AI) is in turn being used more to tackle these problems. This paper will provide a bibliometric and patent survey of AI use in water and climate between 2015 and 2025. Scopus (592 documents) and Web of Science (699 documents) were used to gather scientific data and WIPO (689 patents) and Espacenet (4,373 patents) to gather patent data. The findings indicate that both publications and patents have been rising strongly, with the highest point of 2024. Web of Science has a higher number of journal and conference papers, whereas Scopus has a more even distribution of disciplines. China, United States, and India are the most prolific countries in scientific production, and China also predominates on institutional production with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Analysis of funding indicates a high level of concentration of Chinese agency support towards Web of Science but Scopus has a wider range of international funding. WIPO in the patent arena represents globally oriented applications by the United States, and Espacenet emphasizes regional activity, especially by China and Europe. All in all, the results indicate the rise of scientific research and technological advancement in this field.