Larger Asian rivers: Shorter and longer term hydro-climate changes in humid and arid environments

摘要

Climate change and human activities affect river ecosystems world-wide. Larger Asian rivers, especially those originating from the Himalayas and the Tibet Plateau (Fig. 1), are likely to be most affected by climate change and human activities, due to their fragile environments. Major large Asian rivers have been experiencing drastic changes in the water flow and in particular in sediment loads over the past decades (Fig. 2). These larger Asian river basins have very high population densities and will be at risk due to intensified flood and drought events, degradation of river ecosystems, and shortage of water supply.