This repository contains the relevant dataset for the article Algal blooms intensify in global large lakes over the past two decades. We developed a satellite-based dataset of global freshwater lake algal blooms from 2003 to 2022, covering 1,956 large lakes and reservoirs (collectively referred to as 'lakes'), each larger than 50 km². The dataset was derived from global daily observations at 1-km resolution from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard NASA's Aqua satellite, using all 0.8 million images acquired between 2003 and 2022. Each workbook, labeled by year in the file 'Daily Bloom Frequency Across 1,956 Lakes from 2003 to 2022.xlsx', displays the daily bloom frequency for each lake ID, mapped to the GLAKES dataset, for the corresponding year. The 'GLAKES_HydroLAKES_id.xlsx' file contains a lookup table that links the GLAKES IDs to those used in the HydroLAKES dataset.

For more information about this dataset, please refer to the article 'Algal Blooms Intensify in Global Large Lakes Over the Past Two Decades.' We encourage further citation using the following format: Ying Wang, Dan Zhao, R Iestyn Woolway, Haoran Yan, Hans W Paerl, Yi Zheng, Chunmiao Zheng, Lian Feng, Algal Blooms Intensify in Global Large Lakes Over the Past Two Decades, National Science Review, 2025; nwaf011, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaf011.