Impacts of climate change on the flow of the transboundary Koshi River, with implications for local irrigation
Santosh Kaini, Santosh Nepal, Saurav Pradhananga, Ted Gardner, Ashok Sharma
Abstract
This study assesses climate change impacts on the hydrological regime of a river basin and its implications for future irrigation water availability in the Koshi River basin using RCPs 4.5 and 8.5 over short-term (2016-2045), mid-century (2036-2065) and end-of-century (2071-2100) periods. Average flow in the Koshi River is projected to increase. Projections of average minimum monthly river flow suggest that the areas of winter wheat and monsoon paddy rice could be increased. However, the planting period of paddy rice should be delayed by one month (July to August) to capture the expected increased water availability in the river.
Topics & Concepts
Environmental scienceIrrigationClimate changeHydrology (agriculture)Water resource managementMonsoonDrainage basinRepresentative Concentration PathwaysGeographyClimate modelGeologyAgronomyGeotechnical engineeringBiologyCartographyMeteorologyOceanographyHydrology and Watershed Management StudiesWater-Energy-Food Nexus StudiesWater resources management and optimization