magazinelogo

International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture

ISSN Print: 2578-3467 Downloads: 224637 Total View: 3024067
Frequency: quarterly ISSN Online: 2578-3475 CODEN: IJFSJ3
Email: ijfsa@hillpublisher.com
Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijfsa.2020.03.009

Climate and Water Resources Variation in Afghanistan and the Need for Urgent Adaptation Measures

M. Najim Nasimi 1,*, Jay Sagin 2, N.T.S. Wijesekera 3

1 Lecturer, Kabul Polytechnic University, Afghanistan.

2 Professor, Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan.

3 Senior Professor, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

*Corresponding author: M. Najim Nasimi, Kabul Polytechnic University, Afghanistan.

Published: March 5,2020

Abstract

Climate changes due to anthropogenic distortions to the environment are increasing worldwide, and also throughout Afghanistan. Effects on Water resources reflected by the intensification of floods and droughts cause emergency situations in Afghanistan. In this research, we have reviewed the changes of climate factors and their impact on the water resources in Afghanistan. Meteorological data, including temperature, precipitation, streamflow data, glacier monitoring data were collected and used to analyze the changes reflected in precipitation, surface water, glacier melting, and groundwater resource.  Temperatures of winter seasons in one decade starting from 2007 to 2017 had increased from 0.9 ℃ to 2.5 ℃.  The summer season temperature had increased from 0.5 ℃ to 1.2 ℃. These show that the winter periods are getting warmer when compared to the temperature of the summer periods.  Glacier volumes have decreased by 18.53% between 1994 to 2015. Surface runoff in streams have dramatically reduced by 22% when compared with the that observed between 1962 to 2017. It was identified that the streamflow peaks become sharper and reach larger values. Due these floods have a rapid response with a larger destructive power.  The prolonged droughts also show a devastating characteristic.  Due to the changes in the climate groundwater resources are depleting and has been worst hit due to over extractions. The Karez system, which is the local underground water channeling network has been abandoned and dried up all over Afghanistan. Thus, sustainable climate change adaptation programs are urgently required to be developed and implemented in Afghanistan. 

References

[1]       S. Vicuna and J. A. Dracup, “The evolution of climate change impact studies on hydrology and water resources in California,” Clim. Change, vol. 82, no. 3–4, pp. 327–350, 2007.

[2]      H. Middelkoop et al., “Impact of Climate Change on Hydrological Regimes and Water Resource Management in the Rhine River Basin,” Clim. Change, vol. 49, pp. 105–128, 2001.

[3]      IPCC, “Lobet et al. 2011,” Cambridge Univesity Press, 2007.

[4]      K. C. Abbaspour, M. Faramarzi, S. S. Ghasemi, and H. Yang, “Assessing the impact of climate change on water resources in Iran,” Water Resour. Res., vol. 45, no. 10, Oct. 2009.

[5]      WFP, UNEP, and NEPA, “Climate Change in Afghanistan,” 2016.

[6]      K. D. Frederick and D. C. Major, “Climate Change and Water Resources,” Clim. Change, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 7–23, 1997.

[7]      P.-S. Yu, T.-C. Yang, and C.-K. Wu, “Impact of climate change on water resources in southern Taiwan,” J. Hydrol., vol. 260, no. 1–4, pp. 161–175, Mar. 2002.

[8]      S. Piao et al., “The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China,” Nature, vol. 467, no. 7311, pp. 43–51, Sep. 2010.

[9]      E. Lioubimtseva and G. M. Henebry, “Climate and environmental change in arid Central Asia: Impacts, vulnerability, and adaptations,” J. Arid Environ., vol. 73, no. 11, pp. 963–977, 2009.

[10]     M. M. Q. Mirza, “Climate change, flooding in South Asia and implications,” Reg. Environ. Chang., vol. 11, no. SUPPL. 1, pp. 95–107, 2011.

[11]      V. Thomas, “Climate Change in Afghanistan: Perspectives and opportunities,” Kabul, 2016.

[12]     J. F. Shroder, “Afghanistan Water and Climate Change,” Nat. Resour. Afghanistan, pp. 504–522, 2014.

[13]     H. B. Dulal, “Cities in Asia: how are they adapting to climate change?,” J. Environ. Stud. Sci., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 13–24, 2019.

[14]     J. Lie, H. Duan, and D. Chen, “An Evaluation Model for The Impact of Climate Change on Regional Instability,” in MATEC Web of Conferences, 2018, vol. 175, pp. 1–7.

[15]     H. Wang, “Impact of climate change on national vulnerability,” IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci., vol. 208, pp. 1–5, 2018.

[16]     S. Jolly and N. Ahmad, Climate Refugees in South Asia. 2019.

[17]     T. M. Lee, E. M. Markowitz, P. D. Howe, C. Ko, and A. A. Leiserowitz, “risk perception around the world,” Nature, pp. 1–7, 2015.

[18]     N. Hofstra, M. Iqbal, E. Querner, Z. Dahri, and A. Khan, “Impact of Climate Change on Flood Frequency and Intensity in the Kabul River Basin,” Geosciences, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 114, 2018.

[19]     A. Mohanty, M. Hussain, M. Mishra, D. B. Kattel, and I. Pal, “Exploring Community Resilience and Early Warning Solution for Flash Floods, Debris flow and Landslides in conflict prone villages of Badakhshan, Afghanistan,” Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct., 2018.

[20]    U. K. Haritashya, M. P. Bishop, J. F. Shroder, A. B. G. Bush, and H. N. N. Bulley, “Space-based assessment of glacier fluctuations in the Wakhan Pamir, Afghanistan,” Clim. Change, vol. 94, no. 1–2, pp. 5–18, 2009.

[21]     O. Najmuddin, X. Deng, and R. Bhattacharya, “The dynamics of land use/cover and the statistical assessment of cropland change drivers in the Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan,” Sustain., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 1–18, 2018.

[22]    M. Ghulami, “Assessment of climate change impacts on water resources and agriculture in data-scarce Kabul basin , Masoud Ghulami To cite this version : HAL Id : tel-01737052,” no. December 2017, 2018.

[23]    J. D. Farrington and J. Li, Climate Change Impacts on Snow Leopard Range. Elsevier Inc., 2016.

[24]    R. K. Mall, R. K. Srivastava, and T. Banerjee, “Disaster Risk Reduction Including Climate Change Adaptation Over South Asia : Challenges and Ways Forward,” Int. J. Disaster Risk Sci., 2018.

[25]    A. Boudjella, “Modelling Afghanistan ’ s Average Monthly Temperature from 1901 to 2015,” Asia Proc. Soc. Sci., vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 61–66, 2018.

[26]    M. N. Nasimi, “Investigation of Climate Change Impact Using Water Balance Model for Water Infrastructures & Adaptation Development in Maidan-Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan,” Kabul Polytehnic University, 2019.

[27]    K. Stahl, R. D. Moore, J. M. Shea, D. Hutchinson, and A. J. Cannon, “Coupled modelling of glacier and streamflow response to future climate scenarios,” Water Resour. Res., vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 1–13, 2008.

[28]    V. Radić and R. Hock, “Glaciers in the Earth’s Hydrological Cycle: Assessments of Glacier Mass and Runoff Changes on Global and Regional Scales,” Surv. Geophys., vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 813–837, 2014.

[29]    B. Bahr, F. Meier, and S. D. Peckham, “The physical basis of glacier volume-area scaling perturbations in the ice mass balance rate D ( rate of ice accumulation area at relatively high elevations low elevations ( D  0 on a yearly average ), Volume-Size,” J. Geophys. Res., vol. 102, no. B9, pp. 20355–20362, 1997.

[30]    A. F. Lutz, H. W. ter Maat, H. Biemans, A. B. Shrestha, P. Wester, and W. W. Immerzeel, “Selecting representative climate models for climate change impact studies: an advanced envelope-based selection approach,” Int. J. Climatol., vol. 36, no. 12, pp. 3988–4005, 2016.

[31]     A. F. Lutz, W. W. Immerzeel, P. D. A. Kraaijenbrink, A. B. Shrestha, and M. F. P. Bierkens, “Climate change impacts on the upper indus hydrology: Sources, shifts and extremes,” PLoS One, vol. 11, no. 11, pp. 1–33, 2016.

[32]    T. Bolch, Past and Future Glacier Changes in the Indus River Basin. Zurich, Switzerland: Elsevier Inc., 2019.

[33]    M. . Mack, T. . Chornak, L. . Coplen, M. . Plummer, Rezai, and I. . Verstraeten, “Availability of Water in the Kabul Basin , Afghanistan,” Kabul, 2010.

[34]    T. J. Mack, M. P. Chornack, and M. R. Taher, “Groundwater-level trends and implications for sustainable water use in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan,” Environ. Syst. Decis., vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 457–467, 2013.

[35]    M. J. Khan, G. Pacha, M. Shahzad Khattak, and R. Oad, “Water distribution of traditional karez irrigation systems in Afghanistan,” Irrig. Drain., vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 169–179, 2015.

[36]    D. B. Williams, “Finding water in the heart of darkness: Afghanistan’s ongoing water challenges | EARTH Magazine,” 2010. [Online]. Available: https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/finding-water-heart-darkness-afghanistans-ongoing-water-challenges. [Accessed: 10-Feb-2020].

[37]    B. J. M. Goes, U. N. Parajuli, M. Haq, and R. B. Wardlaw, “Karez (qanat) irrigation in the Helmand River Basin, Afghanistan: a vanishing indigenous legacyL’irrigation Karez (qanat) dans le Bassin de la Rivière Helmand en Afghanistan: un héritage indigène en voie de disparitionRiego por Karez (qanat) en la cuenca ,” Hydrogeol. J., vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 269–286, 2016.

[38]    G. L. Macpherson, W. C. Johnson, and H. Liu, “Viability of karezes ( ancient water supply systems in Afghanistan ) in a changing world,” Appl. Water Sci., 2015.

[39]    T. Grothmann and A. Patt, “Adaptive capacity and human cognition: The process of individual adaptation to climate change,” Glob. Environ. Chang., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 199–213, 2005.

[40]    W. N. Adger, N. W. Arnell, and E. L. Tompkins, “Successful adaptation to climate change across scales,” Glob. Environ. Chang., vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 77–86, 2005.

[41]     D. Serre, B. Barroca, and Y. Diab, “Urban flood mitigation: Sustainable options,” WIT Trans. Ecol. Environ., vol. 129, pp. 299–309, 2010.

[42]    N. Favretto, A. J. Dougill, L. C. Stringer, S. Afionis, and C. H. Quinn, “Links between climate change mitigation, adaptation and development in land policy and ecosystem restoration projects: Lessons from South Africa,” Sustain., vol. 10, no. 3, 2018.

[43]    L. Kmoch, T. Pagella, M. Palm, and F. Sinclair, “Using Local Agroecological Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation: A Study of Tree-Based Options in Northern Morocco,” Sustainability, vol. 10, no. 10, p. 3719, 2018.

[44]    G. Robinson et al., “Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons from Farmers and Peri-Urban Fringe Residents in South Australia,” Environments, vol. 5, no. 3, p. 40, 2018.

[45]    U. Akumaga, A. Tarhule, C. Piani, B. Traore, and A. A. Yusuf, “Utilizing Process-Based Modeling to Assess the Impact of Climate Change on Crop Yields and Adaptation Options in the Niger River Basin , West Africa,” Agronomy, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 1–19, 2018.

[46]    Z. Zhou, L. Qu, and T. Zou, “Quantitative analysis of urban pluvial llood alleviation by open surface water systems in New Towns: Comparing almere and Tianjin Eco-City,” Sustain., vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 13378–13398, 2015.

[47]    J. M. Nzuma, M. Waithaka, R. M. Mulwa, M. Kyotalimye, and G. Nelson, “Strategies for Adapting to Climate Change in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa A Review of Data Sources , Poverty Reduction Strategy Programs ( PRSPs ) and National Adaptation Plans for Agriculture ( NAPAs ) in ASARECA Member Countries,” IFPRI Discuss. Pap., vol. 1013, no. July, p. 64, 2010.

[48]   U. Meinel and R. Schüle, “The difficulty of climate change adaptation in manufacturing firms: Developing an action-theoretical perspective on the causality of adaptive inaction,” Sustain., vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 1–16, 2018.

[49]    N. Guyennon, F. Salerno, I. Portoghese, and E. Romano, “Climate change adaptation in a Mediterranean semi-arid catchment: Testing Managed Aquifer Recharge and increased surface reservoir capacity,” Water (Switzerland), vol. 9, no. 9, 2017.

[50]    X. B. Sun et al., “Changes in extreme temperature events over the Hindu Kush Himalaya during 1961–2015,” Adv. Clim. Chang. Res., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 157–165, 2017.

[51]     V. Aich et al., “Climate Change in Afghanistan Deduced from Reanalysis and Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX)—South Asia Simulations,” Climate, vol. 5, no. 2, p. 38, 2017.

[52]    L. Das, J. Akhter, M. Dutta, and J. K. Meher, “Ensemble-based CMIP5 simulations of monsoon rainfall and temperature changes over South Asia,” pp. 41–60, 2015.

[53]    T. Ozturk, M. T. Turp, M. Türkeş, and M. L. Kurnaz, “Projected changes in temperature and precipitation climatology of Central Asia CORDEX Region 8 by using RegCM4.3.5,” Atmos. Res., vol. 183, pp. 296–307, 2017.

[54]    M. H. Hassanyar and J. Tsutsumi, “Multi-model Ensemble Climate Change Projection for Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan under Representative Concentration Pathways,” Mod. Environ. Sci. Eng., vol. 03, no. 05, pp. 291–301, 2017.

[55]   H. D. Pritchard, “Asia’s glaciers are a regionally important buffer against drought,” Nature, vol. 545, no. 7653, pp. 169–174, 2017.

[56]    C. J. White, T. W. Tanton, and D. W. Rycroft, “The Impact of Climate Change on the Water Resources of the Amu Darya Basin in Central Asia,” Water Resour. Manag., vol. 28, no. 15, pp. 5267–5281, 2014.

[57]    M. Schermer et al., “The Role of Transdisciplinary Research for Agricultural Climate Change Adaptation Strategies,” Agronomy, vol. 8, no. 11, p. 237, 2018.

How to cite this paper

Climate and Water Resources Variation in Afghanistan and the Need for Urgent Adaptation Measures

How to cite this paper: Nasimi, M. N., Sagin, J., Wijesekera, N. T. S. (2020) Climate and Water Resources Variation in Afghanistan and the Need for Urgent Adaptation Measures. International Journal of Food Science and Agriculture, 4(1), 49-64.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/ijfsa.2020.03.009