Causes of Climate Change and its Impact on Risalpur

Abstract

Climate change is becoming a growing concern for the global population. Pakistan is among the most vulnerable countries that is at risk of adverse climate change impacts. Since the country hosts extensive glacial cover in the Himalayas-Karakoram-Hindukush mountain systems which is also the source of all its rivers, climate change and its factors become even more significant water resources. Pakistan has faced some of most devastating weather induced disaster events in recent decades, costing heavy toll on the national economy and social losses. Population growth, increasing water scarcity levels in both rural and urban areas for domestic, commercial as well as agriculture consumers is stressing the boundaries of meeting water demands across the country. understanding the factors of climate change, its impacts on the weather system and hydrological systems both in the long and short term is the only key to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. It is important to have a long and short-term hydrometeorological data to understand the water resources availability and hydrological responses within highlands catchments in northern Pakistan. Hydrometeorological data (temperature, rainfall, humidity, domestic and irrigation uses, surface wind, thunderstorm, dust storm) now frequently being experienced across the country in general and of the relevant stations within the study area. These factors were analyzed to infer existing and future trends in seasonal and annual time scales. with rising water demands, development and climate variability in the study area trend analysis was applied for two different time periods, existing (1992 - 2020) and future prediction/ trends (2021 - 2049). The non-parametric Man-Kendall test was used to detect the nature of trends in the hydrological variables. The analysis infer an increase in the temperature in Risalpur while precipitation is generally decreasing.