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Climate Change Impact on Major River Basins in the Indian Himalayan Region: Risk Assessment and Sustainable Management

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Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya

Abstract

Billions of people relay on water resources of the Himalayan region for drinking, irrigation, and other domestic purposes. Abundance of natural resources makes this region suitable for human settlements, despite the fact that the area experiences frequent natural hazards. Water resources including major rivers are one of the important components, responsible for high biodiversity of the Himalayas and its role in global atmospheric circulation. Recent climate changes have proved to affect the precipitation pattern and ice cover of the Himalayas, causing variations in the dynamics of rivers in the area. Climate change–induced variation in river flow quantity, timing, and unpredictability raises the danger of ecological changes and has a negative impact on aquatic life and the ecosystem depending on rivers. Agriculture is one important sector that is at highest risk due to climate change. This is a serious concern as the runoff patterns of the rivers are mainly determined by the precipitation pattern and ice cover in the upper reaches. Reduction in ice cover reduces the water storage capacity of the Himalayas, and fluctuations in the precipitation pattern cause floods and droughts. The increased frequency of natural hazards including floods and droughts affects the economy and is a threat to people’s life. Climate change effects on water resources, namely, Himalayan snow and ice reservoirs and lake and river systems and the risk associated with it, can be monitored using different hydrological models. To cover vast geographical areas of the Himalayan region, adequate hydrological observatories need to be installed in order to monitor and record time series data of the hydrological parameters. Systematic monitoring will help to predict how climate change will affect water resources in the future. Sustainable management of local resources based on suitable practices, adaptation strategies, and need-specific policies relevant to basin climate can further reduce frequent climate change-related impacts, risk, and vulnerability.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Punjab, for his administrative support for this work. K. Amrutha would like to acknowledge DST for providing INSPIRE fellowship toward a PhD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    K. Amrutha & Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik

  2. Independent Consultant, Bathinda, India

    Rasmi Patnaik

  3. Department of Geography, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    A. S. Sandeep

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  1. K. Amrutha
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  2. Rasmi Patnaik
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  3. A. S. Sandeep
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  4. Jitendra Kumar Pattanaik
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Sanjeev Sharma

  2. G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India

    Jagdish Chandra Kuniyal

  3. Department of Geography, School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    Pritam Chand

  4. Department of Environmental Studies, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Pardeep Singh

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Amrutha, K., Patnaik, R., Sandeep, A.S., Pattanaik, J.K. (2023). Climate Change Impact on Major River Basins in the Indian Himalayan Region: Risk Assessment and Sustainable Management. In: Sharma, S., Kuniyal, J.C., Chand, P., Singh, P. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Management and Sustainable Practices in the Himalaya. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24659-3_3

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