Regional hydrological impacts of climate change: implications for water management in India

Mondal, Arpita and Mujumdar, PP (2015) Regional hydrological impacts of climate change: implications for water management in India. In: 11th Kovacs Colloquium on Hydrological Sciences and Water Security: Past, Present and Future, JUN 16-17, 2014, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, FRANCE, pp. 34-43.

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Abstract

Climate change is most likely to introduce an additional stress to already stressed water systems in developing countries. Climate change is inherently linked with the hydrological cycle and is expected to cause significant alterations in regional water resources systems necessitating measures for adaptation and mitigation. Increasing temperatures, for example, are likely to change precipitation patterns resulting in alterations of regional water availability, evapotranspirative water demand of crops and vegetation, extremes of floods and droughts, and water quality. A comprehensive assessment of regional hydrological impacts of climate change is thus necessary. Global climate model simulations provide future projections of the climate system taking into consideration changes in external forcings, such as atmospheric carbon-dioxide and aerosols, especially those resulting from anthropogenic emissions. However, such simulations are typically run at a coarse scale, and are not equipped to reproduce regional hydrological processes. This paper summarizes recent research on the assessment of climate change impacts on regional hydrology, addressing the scale and physical processes mismatch issues. Particular attention is given to changes in water availability, irrigation demands and water quality. This paper also includes description of the methodologies developed to address uncertainties in the projections resulting from incomplete knowledge about future evolution of the human-induced emissions and from using multiple climate models. Approaches for investigating possible causes of historically observed changes in regional hydrological variables are also discussed. Illustrations of all the above-mentioned methods are provided for Indian regions with a view to specifically aiding water management in India.

Item Type:	Conference Proceedings
Series.:	IAHS Publication
Publisher:	INT ASSOC HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the INT ASSOC HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES, INST OF HYDROLOGY, WALLINGFORD OX10 8BB, ENGLAND
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Divecha Centre for Climate Change Division of Mechanical Sciences > Civil Engineering
Date Deposited:	11 Aug 2015 09:15
Last Modified:	11 Aug 2015 09:15
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/52084

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