Extreme streamflow and sediment load changes in the Yellow River Basin: Impacts of climate change and human activities

•Extreme streamflow and sediment load decreased during 1956–2019, but increased or stabilized since 2000.•Mainstream dams reduced synchronization probability of extreme streamflow and sediment load.•Soil conservation measures reduced extreme streamflow and sediment load in power function. In recent decades, the increasing frequency and magnitude of extreme hydrological events due to climate change and human activities have caused substantial economic losses and damages to human wellbeing. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal variations of streamflow extremes (QE) and sediment load extremes (SE) in the Yellow River (YR) during 1956–2019. Furthermore, the effects of main human activities and climate change were identified by establishing quantitative relationships between these factors and changing hydrological extremes. Specifically, the QE and SE have decreased significantly (p