2018: A year of drought – climate change causes an increase in the number of freshwaters that run dry, at least temporarily. Also, many lakes are shrinking permanently or have disappeared completely. Around 90,000 square kilometres of water surface have already vanished in the last 30 years. This trend is not only a threat to drinking water reserves and major ecosystems – dried freshwaters also play an important role in the global carbon cycle, and may be responsible for the release of CO2 and other climate-relevant gases. Two recently published studies undertaken with involvement of the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) reveal that the importance of this phenomenon has so far been underrated.