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Amazonian deforestation is causing notable changes in the hydrological cycle by altering important precipitation characteristics. This study uses daily rainfall time series data from 112 rain gauges and a recent yearly 1‐km land use data set covering the period from 1974 to 2012 to evaluate the effects of the extent of deforestation at different spatial scales on the onset of the rainy season and on the duration of dry spells in southern Amazonia. Correlation analyses indicate a delay in the onset of 0.12–0.17 days per percent increase in deforestation. Analysis of cumulative probability density functions emphasizes that the likelihood of rainy season onset occurring earlier than normal decreases as the local deforestation fraction increases. In addition, the probability of occurrence of dry spells in the early and late rainy season is higher in areas with greater deforestation. The delayed onset and longer dry spell events in highly deforested areas increase the climate risk to agriculture in the region. The likelihood of rainy season onset occurring earlier than normal decreases as the local deforestation fraction increasesThe probability of occurrence of dry spells of any duration in this region is higher in areas with greater deforestationThe delayed rainy season onset and longer dry spell events increase the climate risk to agriculture in the region

As the largest river basin on Earth, the Amazon is of major importance to the world's climate and water resources. Over the past decades, advances in satellite‐based remote sensing (RS) have brought our understanding of its terrestrial water cycle and the associated hydrological processes to a new era. Here, we review major studies and the various techniques using satellite RS in the Amazon. We show how RS played a major role in supporting new research and key findings regarding the Amazon water cycle, and how the region became a laboratory for groundbreaking investigations of new satellite retrievals and analyses. At the basin‐scale, the understanding of several hydrological processes was only possible with the advent of RS observations, such as the characterization of "rainfall hotspots" in the Andes‐Amazon transition, evapotranspiration rates, and variations of surface waters and groundwater storage. These results strongly contribute to the recent advances of hydrological models and to our new understanding of the Amazon water budget and aquatic environments. In the context of upcoming hydrology‐oriented satellite missions, which will offer the opportunity for new synergies and new observations with finer space‐time resolution, this review aims to guide future research agenda toward integrated monitoring and understanding of the Amazon water from space. Integrated multidisciplinary studies, fostered by international collaborations, set up future directions to tackle the great challenges the Amazon is currently facing, from climate change to increased anthropogenic pressure. The Amazon basin is the largest river basin in the world, characterized by complex hydrological processes that connect high rates of precipitation, extensive floodplains, dense tropical forests, complex topography, and large variations in freshwater storage and discharge. It plays a key role in the water, energy, and carbon cycles and interacts with the global climate system. Earth observations have played a major role in supporting research in Amazon hydrology, and the characterization of several hydrological processes was only possible with the help of remote sensing data. The basin is now facing great risk under current climate change and increased anthropogenic pressure and the resulting environmental alterations require a better understanding of the overall basin's water cycle across scales. We review the strengths and limitations of observations from satellites in the context of the current and upcoming hydrology‐oriented satellite missions, and we make recommendations for improving satellite observations of the Amazon basin water cycle, along with an interdisciplinary and stepwise approach to guide research for the next decades. Integrated view of scientific advances in Amazon hydrology with remote sensingExpected progress to understand the water cycle, aquatic ecosystems, and environmental changes with upcoming hydrology‐oriented missionsNeed to translate advanced knowledge from remote sensing to support water management and environmental governance Integrated view of scientific advances in Amazon hydrology with remote sensing Expected progress to understand the water cycle, aquatic ecosystems, and environmental changes with upcoming hydrology‐oriented missions Need to translate advanced knowledge from remote sensing to support water management and environmental governance