From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin
The Koshi Basin, spread across China, Nepal and India, is perceived as having high potential for hydropower and irrigation development, both seen as ways to promote economic development in the region. This paper quantifies and assesses the past and projected future spatial and temporal water balance...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Water Management Institute
2019
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101252 |
| _version_ | 1855516075222892544 |
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| author | Bharati, Luna Bhattarai, Utsav Khadka, Ambika Gurung, Pabitra Neumann, L. E. Penton, D. J. Dhaubanjar, Sanita Nepal, S. |
| author_browse | Bharati, Luna Bhattarai, Utsav Dhaubanjar, Sanita Gurung, Pabitra Khadka, Ambika Nepal, S. Neumann, L. E. Penton, D. J. |
| author_facet | Bharati, Luna Bhattarai, Utsav Khadka, Ambika Gurung, Pabitra Neumann, L. E. Penton, D. J. Dhaubanjar, Sanita Nepal, S. |
| author_sort | Bharati, Luna |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | The Koshi Basin, spread across China, Nepal and India, is perceived as having high potential for hydropower and irrigation development, both seen as ways to promote economic development in the region. This paper quantifies and assesses the past and projected future spatial and temporal water balances in the Koshi Basin. Results show that precipitation and net water yield are lowest in the transmountain region and the Tibetan plateau. The values are highest in the mountain region, followed by the hills and Indo-Gangetic Plains. Approximately 65% of average annual precipitation is converted to flows, indicating high water availability. Actual evapotranspiration is highest in the Indo-Gangetic Plains region due to the presence of irrigated agriculture and a few forested mountain watersheds. As most of the water from the mountain and hill regions eventually flows down to the plains, the mountain and hill regions in Nepal are important for maintaining agriculture in the plains in both Nepal and India. Results from the flow analyses indicate the high temporal variability of flows in the basin. The frequent occurrences of both high- and low-flow events demonstrate the existing vulnerability of the region to both floods and droughts, leading to a very risk-prone livelihood system. Climate change projections show an increasing trend in precipitation and net water yield for most of the basin, except the transmountain region. Therefore, it is important to consider the climate change impacts on water resources in future planning. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace101252 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | International Water Management Institute |
| publisherStr | International Water Management Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1012522025-11-07T08:42:00Z From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin Bharati, Luna Bhattarai, Utsav Khadka, Ambika Gurung, Pabitra Neumann, L. E. Penton, D. J. Dhaubanjar, Sanita Nepal, S. climate change climatic data water resources water balance water yield water availability mountains plains river basin management soil analysis soil water balance calibration spatial distribution hydropower precipitation evapotranspiration temperature rainfall monsoon climate catchment areas hydrological data impact assessment models flow discharge runoff land use seasonal variation The Koshi Basin, spread across China, Nepal and India, is perceived as having high potential for hydropower and irrigation development, both seen as ways to promote economic development in the region. This paper quantifies and assesses the past and projected future spatial and temporal water balances in the Koshi Basin. Results show that precipitation and net water yield are lowest in the transmountain region and the Tibetan plateau. The values are highest in the mountain region, followed by the hills and Indo-Gangetic Plains. Approximately 65% of average annual precipitation is converted to flows, indicating high water availability. Actual evapotranspiration is highest in the Indo-Gangetic Plains region due to the presence of irrigated agriculture and a few forested mountain watersheds. As most of the water from the mountain and hill regions eventually flows down to the plains, the mountain and hill regions in Nepal are important for maintaining agriculture in the plains in both Nepal and India. Results from the flow analyses indicate the high temporal variability of flows in the basin. The frequent occurrences of both high- and low-flow events demonstrate the existing vulnerability of the region to both floods and droughts, leading to a very risk-prone livelihood system. Climate change projections show an increasing trend in precipitation and net water yield for most of the basin, except the transmountain region. Therefore, it is important to consider the climate change impacts on water resources in future planning. 2019 2019-05-13T04:45:05Z 2019-05-13T04:45:05Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101252 en Open Access application/pdf International Water Management Institute Bharati, Luna; Bhattarai, Utsav; Khadka, Ambika; Gurung, Pabitra; Neumann, L. E.; Penton, D. J.; Dhaubanjar, Sanita; Nepal, S. 2019. From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 49p. (IWMI Working Paper 187) doi: 10.5337/2019.205 |
| spellingShingle | climate change climatic data water resources water balance water yield water availability mountains plains river basin management soil analysis soil water balance calibration spatial distribution hydropower precipitation evapotranspiration temperature rainfall monsoon climate catchment areas hydrological data impact assessment models flow discharge runoff land use seasonal variation Bharati, Luna Bhattarai, Utsav Khadka, Ambika Gurung, Pabitra Neumann, L. E. Penton, D. J. Dhaubanjar, Sanita Nepal, S. From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin |
| title | From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin |
| title_full | From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin |
| title_fullStr | From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin |
| title_short | From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin |
| title_sort | from the mountains to the plains impact of climate change on water resources in the koshi river basin |
| topic | climate change climatic data water resources water balance water yield water availability mountains plains river basin management soil analysis soil water balance calibration spatial distribution hydropower precipitation evapotranspiration temperature rainfall monsoon climate catchment areas hydrological data impact assessment models flow discharge runoff land use seasonal variation |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101252 |
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