- Recognised at Saransh 2025, the IITGN scholar translates complex climate research into accessible public knowledge.
- Developed a machine-learning framework reconstructing six decades of missing river flow and water-level data across India.
- On World Water Day 2026, his research highlights how reliable hydrological data can strengthen flood prediction, water security, and climate resilience.
As we mark World Water Day 2026 with the campaign theme “Where Water Flows, Equality Grows,” this spotlight highlights the critical link between hydrological data and social justice. The importance of reliable water knowledge is critical for understanding its changing rhythm and for building resilient and equitable societies.
Hiren Solanki, a fourth-year PhD scholar from the Department of Earth Sciences at IIT Gandhinagar, recently received national recognition at Saransh 2025. Organised by the Indian National Young Academy of Science, this competition aims to bridge the gap between young scientists and society by encouraging and challenging researchers to communicate complex research in simple, accessible language to a non-expert broader audience.
Hiren’s IITGN journey began as an MTech student under Prof Vimal Mishra and Prof Vikrant Jain, later continuing as a PhD scholar in 2022 under Professor Mishra’s guidance at the Water and Climate Lab. After receiving the Director’s Fellowship and subsequently the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF), Hiren pursued his doctoral research at the intersection of climate science, hydrology, and machine learning.
Growing up in a coastal district of Gujarat, Hiren witnessed the devastating effects of flooding and cyclones firsthand. These experiences shaped his academic journey and motivated him to pursue solutions that reduce disaster risks and strengthen climate resilience. While the monsoon season may appear ‘normal’ on average, rainfall patterns are shifting; fewer rainy days, but more intense downpours in shorter durations, resulting in flood risks across urban and riverine regions. As floods and extreme rainfall events become increasingly unpredictable across India, fragmented and missing river data are a major challenge in flood forecasting. Without continuous records of river flow and water levels, flood prediction, reservoir management, and climate impact assessments remain uncertain.
Thus, Hiren developed a machine-learning framework that reconstructs missing river flow and water-level data across India from 1961 to 2021. In simple terms, his work ‘fills the missing pages’ in India’s river history, enabling a more reliable assessment of floods, droughts, and water availability. His broader research focuses on improving streamflow forecasts by combining machine learning through hydrological modelling, a scientific approach that simulates how rainfall moves through rivers, soil, and reservoirs to estimate how much water will flow downstream. By integrating physical understanding of river systems with data-driven techniques, he aims to forecast incoming river flow and water levels three to five days in advance.
On the World Water Day, his work underscores a crucial message: equitable access to water knowledge is essential for equitable access to water itself. Reliable hydrological data enables better planning for floods, droughts, irrigation, and drinking water supply, ensuring that vulnerable communities are not left behind.
Beyond flood forecasting, Hiren has also contributed to research on long-term climate variability across the Indian subcontinent. His recent studies examine the greening of the Thar Desert and explore the role of climate change in shaping the trajectory of the Harappan civilisation, highlighting how climate shifts have influenced both ecosystems and human history. By connecting present-day hydrological extremes with past climate transformations, his work offers a broader perspective on the long-term relationship between climate, landscapes, and societies.
What made Hiren’s thesis stand out was its direct relevance to a pressing national issue. By combining physics-based hydrological understanding with data-driven machine learning models, his research addresses real-world flood risks and water security challenges across India.
Hiren credits the collaborative research culture at IITGN as a defining factor in his growth. From flash talks and poster presentations to international conferences, interdisciplinary collaborations, short courses, and workshops, the ecosystem encouraged him to refine his ideas and communicate science effectively.
“The collaborative nature of labs across Earth Sciences, Civil Engineering, Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences broadened my research perspective,” he says.
He also acknowledged the mentorship of Prof Vimal Mishra, whose guidance was instrumental in addressing challenges related to fragmented hydrological datasets and computational constraints. Professor Mishra was awarded the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize in 2022 by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), as the sole recipient in the Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean, and Planetary Sciences category that year, a recognition that underscores the lab’s leadership in climate and water research in India. The advanced computational infrastructure at the Water and Climate Lab further enabled the team to process large-scale climate records and implement high-resolution modelling frameworks.
“It was not just about models or datasets anymore,” Hiren reflects. “It was about communicating science that matters to society.”
This shift from publishing research to creating impact-driven science transformed him both personally and professionally.
After completing his PhD, Hiren hopes to continue working at the intersection of academia and policy, ensuring that scientific insights directly inform climate adaptation and water management strategies in India. He also aspires to continue in academia, inspired by his teaching experiences and mentoring students at IITGN.
In the long term, Hiren envisions his research contributing to resilient infrastructure, improved disaster preparedness and evidence-based water governance across the country.