The technical paper
of IPCC on climate change and water clearly shows that water resources especially
fresh water resources are vulnerable and have the potential to be strongly
impacted by climate change. The observational records and climate projects indicate
that the impact will have wide-ranging consequences for human societies and
ecosystems. The impacts such as increased in intensity and variability of
precipitation is projected to aggravate the risks for flooding and drought in
many areas, which in turn is likely to affect water quality and exacerbate many
forms of water pollution.
The impacts of
climate change will affect the livelihood of people globally. It will induce
risks and vulnerabilities in the water using and influencing sectors. It will distress
the sectors like health, agriculture and food security, energy, transport,
water supply and sanitation, industry, mining, etc. Global environment changes
observed throughout the previous decade can be credited to anthropogenically boosted
climate change and the changes related to water include: sea level rise;
melting of snow and ice; changes in the frequency and/or intensity of extreme
weather events; changes to ecosystems and biodiversity patterns. Changes due to
climate change are expected to further aggravate water-related hazards and
water scarcity, increasing the vulnerability of socio-ecological systems.
The impact of
climate change on water resources will be high and substantial in under-developed
and developing countries of Africa and Asia compared to developed countries. Most
of the people of Africa and Asia are engaged in agriculture and livestock and
impact on water availability and quality will have significant impact in these
sectors. This will reduce production significantly and aggravate the food
insufficiency on the people residing in these areas. These regions will be incapable
to adapt climate change due to very limited resources compared to wealthier
nations who can import water if required. A rise of one degree Celsius would
threaten water supplies for 50 million people in these areas and a rise of five
degrees Celsius could cause in the disappearance of large glaciers in the
Himalayas which would affect one quarter of China’s population and millions of India
population.
The developed
countries will also receive an impact on water resources including USA. The
recent drought in California was declared over but it shows that there could be
a problem in long term availability of water in the region especially in
Southern California because of its increasing population and their reliance on
imported water. The annual water flow in three Californian river basins is expected
to decline by as much as 8 to 14% over the next four decades as a result of
climate change. The long term effects are expected to be increased flooding in
winter due to early snowmelt and water shortages in summer. The local
authorities are now urging for more water conservation and a sustainable
approach to water management to help combat climate change.
The UK has also been affected. The floods across many areas in 2007 and are believed
to have been caused by climate change. The environmental organizations are now working
closely with authorities
to ensure that the areas prone to flooding are better prepared for extreme
weather events in the future.
In Australia the
average temperatures have increased by 0.90C since 1910. The country
is already facing variation in amount of annual rainfall and its effect on managing
water resources. The projection on Climate change indicates the reduced rainfall across certain areas and an increased risk
of drought. Decline in mid-twentieth century winter rainfall in south-west
Australia has led to a severe drop in the annual inflow into reservoirs
supplying of Perth. Now other cities are also facing the same problem with a
rise in population.
Climate model simulations and other analysis suggest all
natural sources of water could be significantly affected over the coming decades.
Countries all over the world need to begin planning for these changes by
implementing water conservation techniques and a sustainable system for water
management to combat potential floods and extreme droughts.
Sources
1.
www.wateraid.org/document
2.
www.pasadenastarnews.com/news
3.
www.climatechange.gov.au
4.
www.water.org.uk
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