Larger Asian rivers: Climate, hydrology and ecosystems

摘要

Some of the larger Asian river basins (Fig. 1) have recently experienced catastrophic hydro-meteorological events such as the extreme flooding in the Indus Basin in Pakistan in July/August 2010, and the extreme droughts in southwest and northeast China in 2010 and in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin in 2011. Climate change was partially blamed for these extreme events, to which human activities including land use changes, watershed management and dam construction also contributed. Impacts on the hydrological system and water resources are projected to be more severe in the future, due to increased frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, intensified erosion and sedimentation, expanding water scarcity, reductions in glaciers, sea ice and snow cover, damages to water quality, and pollution of entire ecosystems. Climate change impacts on water resources influence directly and indirectly water-depended sectors of the economy and society, such as agriculture, industry and hydropower, freshwater ecosystems, and others (Bates et al, 2008; Mertz et al., 2009; Sadoff and Muller, 2009).