CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES
T.M. CORNEA , M. DIMA1, D. ROCA
ABSTRACT. – Climate change impacts on water resources – The most recent
scientific assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
[6] concludes that, since the late 19th century, anthropogenic induced emissions
of greenhouse gases have contributed to an increase in global surface
temperatures of about 0.3 to 0.6o C. Based on the IPCC’s scenario of future
greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols a further increase of 2o C is expected by
the year 2100. Plants, animals, natural and managed ecosystems, and human
settlements are susceptible to variations in the storage, fluxes, and quality of
water and sensitive to climate change. From urban and agricultural water
supplies to flood management and aquatic ecosystem protection, global warming is
affecting all aspects of water resource management. Rising temperatures, loss of
snowpack, escalating size and frequency of flood events, and rising sea levels
are just some of the impacts of climate change that have broad implications for
the management of water resources. With robust scientific evidence showing that
human-induced climate change is occurring, it is critical to understand how
water quantity and quality might be affected. The purpose of this paper is to
highlight the environmental risks caused by climate anomalies on water resources,
to examine the negative impacts of a greenhouse warming on the supply and demand
for water and the resulting socio-economic implications.
Keywords: climate change, environmental risk, water resources, GHG.