Open AccessClimate change impacts on hydrology and water resources of Indian River basin
Author(s) -
Umesh Kumar Singh,
Balwant Kumar
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
current world environment/current world environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2320-8031
pISSN - 0973-4929
DOI - 10.12944/cwe.13.1.04
Subject(s) - groundwater recharge , climate change , environmental science , drainage basin , hydrology (agriculture) , surface runoff , water resources , wetland , glacier , water cycle , precipitation , structural basin , global warming , groundwater , geology , physical geography , geography , aquifer , ecology , oceanography , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , cartography , meteorology , biology
Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission is altering the global hydrological cycle due to change in rainfall pattern and rising temperature which is responsible for alteration in the physical characteristics of river basin, melting of ice, drought, flood, extreme weather events and alteration in groundwater recharge. In India, water demand for domestic, industrial and agriculture purposes have already increased many folds which are also influencing the water resource system. In addition, climate change has induced the surface temperature of the Indian subcontinent by 0.48 ºC in just last century. However, Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basins have great importance for their exceptional hydro-geological settings and deltaic floodplain wetland ecosystems which support 700 million people in Asia. The climatic variability like alterations in precipitation and temperature over GBM river basins has been observed which signifies the GBM as one of the most vulnerable areas in the world under the potential impact of climate change. Consequently, alteration in river discharge, higher runoff generation, low groundwater recharge and melting of glaciers over GBM river basin could be observed in near future. The consequence of these changes due to climate change over GBM basin may create serious water problem for Indian sub-continents. This paper reviews the literature on the historical climate variations and how climate change affects the hydrological characteristics of different river basins.