diff --git a/scripts/release.sh b/scripts/release.sh
index d88564857f..017a5c000b 100755
--- a/scripts/release.sh
+++ b/scripts/release.sh
@@ -143,24 +143,27 @@ if [[ $CLIENT_VERSION != *"snapshot"* ]]; then
   if [[ $(git log ${remote_branch}..upstream/master | grep ^commit) ]]; then
     start_sha=$(git log ${remote_branch}..upstream/master | grep ^commit | tail -n1 | sed 's/commit //g')
     end_sha=$(git log ${remote_branch}..upstream/master | grep ^commit | head -n1 | sed 's/commit //g')
-    output="/tmp/python-master-relnote.md"
+    output="/tmp/python-master-relnote-$(date +%s).md"
     release-notes --dependencies=false --org kubernetes-client --repo python --start-sha $start_sha --end-sha $end_sha --output $output
-    sed -i 's/(\[\#/(\[kubernetes-client\/python\#/g' $output
-
-    IFS_backup=$IFS
-    IFS=$'\n'
-    sections=($(grep "^### " $output))
-    IFS=$IFS_backup
-    for section in "${sections[@]}"; do
-      # ignore section titles and empty lines; replace newline with liternal "\n"
-      master_release_notes=$(sed -n "/$section/,/###/{/###/!p}" $output | sed -n "{/^$/!p}" | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g')
-      util::changelog::write_changelog v$CLIENT_VERSION "$section" "$master_release_notes"
-    done
-    git add .
-    if ! git diff-index --quiet --cached HEAD; then
-      util::changelog::update_release_api_version $CLIENT_VERSION $CLIENT_VERSION $new_k8s_api_version
+    # Collect release notes from the output if non-empty
+    if [ -s $output ]; then
+      sed -i 's/(\[\#/(\[kubernetes-client\/python\#/g' $output
+
+      IFS_backup=$IFS
+      IFS=$'\n'
+      sections=($(grep "^### " $output))
+      IFS=$IFS_backup
+      for section in "${sections[@]}"; do
+        # ignore section titles and empty lines; replace newline with liternal "\n"
+        master_release_notes=$(sed -n "/$section/,/###/{/###/!p}" $output | sed -n "{/^$/!p}" | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g')
+        util::changelog::write_changelog v$CLIENT_VERSION "$section" "$master_release_notes"
+      done
       git add .
-      git commit -m "update changelog with release notes from master branch"
+      if ! git diff-index --quiet --cached HEAD; then
+        util::changelog::update_release_api_version $CLIENT_VERSION $CLIENT_VERSION $new_k8s_api_version
+        git add .
+        git commit -m "update changelog with release notes from master branch"
+      fi
     fi
   fi
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/update-submodule.sh b/scripts/update-submodule.sh
index 45431b37e0..8c64fa555b 100755
--- a/scripts/update-submodule.sh
+++ b/scripts/update-submodule.sh
@@ -50,20 +50,24 @@ git submodule update --remote
 # download release notes
 start_sha=$(git diff | grep "^-Subproject commit " | sed 's/-Subproject commit //g')
 end_sha=$(git diff | grep "^+Subproject commit " | sed 's/+Subproject commit //g')
-output="/tmp/python-base-relnote.md"
+output="/tmp/python-base-relnote-$(date +%s).md"
 release-notes --dependencies=false --org kubernetes-client --repo python-base --start-sha $start_sha --end-sha $end_sha --output $output
-sed -i 's/(\[\#/(\[kubernetes-client\/python-base\#/g' $output
+if [ -s $output ]; then
+  sed -i 's/(\[\#/(\[kubernetes-client\/python-base\#/g' $output
 
-# update changelog
-IFS_backup=$IFS
-IFS=$'\n'
-sections=($(grep "^### " $output))
-IFS=$IFS_backup
-for section in "${sections[@]}"; do
-  # ignore section titles and empty lines; replace newline with liternal "\n"
-  release_notes=$(sed -n "/$section/,/###/{/###/!p}" $output | sed -n "{/^$/!p}" | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g')
-  util::changelog::write_changelog "$TARGET_RELEASE" "$section" "$release_notes"
-done
+  # update changelog
+  IFS_backup=$IFS
+  IFS=$'\n'
+  sections=($(grep "^### " $output))
+  IFS=$IFS_backup
+  for section in "${sections[@]}"; do
+    # ignore section titles and empty lines; replace newline with liternal "\n"
+    release_notes=$(sed -n "/$section/,/###/{/###/!p}" $output | sed -n "{/^$/!p}" | sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/\\n/g')
+    util::changelog::write_changelog "$TARGET_RELEASE" "$section" "$release_notes"
+  done
 
-rm -f $output
-echo "Successfully updated CHANGELOG for submodule."
+  rm -f $output
+  echo "Successfully updated CHANGELOG for submodule."
+else
+  echo "No CHANGELOG for submodule."
+fi