High resolution modeling of the regional impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand

In the Arkansas River Basin in southeastern Colorado, surface irrigation provides most of the water required for agriculture. Consequently, the region’s future could be significantly affected if climate change impacts the amount of water available for irrigation. A methodology to model the expected impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand in the region is described. The Integrated Decision Support Consumptive Use model, which accounts for spatial and temporal variability in evapotranspiration and precipitation, is used in conjunction with two climate scenarios from the Vegetation-Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project. The two scenarios were extracted and scaled down from two general circulation models (GCMs), the HAD from the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research and the CCC from the Canadian Climate Centre. The results show significant changes in the water demands of crops due to climate change. The HAD and CCC climate change scenarios both predict an increase in water demand. However, the projections of the two GCMs concerning the water available for irrigation differ significantly, reflecting the large degree of uncertainty concerning what the future impacts of climate change might be in the study region. As new or updated predictions become available, the methodology described here can be used to estimate the impacts of climate change.     

Impact of climate change and irrigation technology advancement on agricultural water use in China

The impact of climate change and irrigation technology advancement on agricultural water use in China is analyzed for the period of 1949–2005. The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) is adopted to characterize climate change, and the Gross Irrigation Quota (GIQ) is used to examine the relationship between agricultural water use and climate change in China. The results show that the GIQ correlates well with the PDSI in Chinese irrigated areas for the period of 1949–1990. A quantitative relationship between the GIQ and PDSI is statistically regressed; a new GIQ dataset is generated with the PDSI based on this relationship over the period 1949–2005. The generated GIQ data with climate-only information follow the pattern of the actual GIQ for the period 1949–1990. Since 1991, the actual GIQ becomes much smaller than the generated GIQ, indicating that irrigation technology advancement exerts a dominant impact on reducing agricultural water use intensity in China.     

Impact assessment of climate change,carbon dioxide fertilization and constant growing season on rice yields in China

Rice is the staple food in China, and the country’s enlarging population puts increasing pressure on its rice production as well as on that of the world. In this study, we estimate the impact of climate change, CO₂ fertilization, crop adaptation and the interactions of these three factors on the rice yields of China using model simulation with four hypothetical scenarios. According to the results of the model simulation, the rice yields without CO₂ fertilization are predicted to decrease by 3.3 % in the 2040s. Considering a constant rice-growing season (GS), the rice yields are predicted to increase by 3.2 %. When the effect of CO₂ fertilization is integrated into the Agro-C model, the expected rice yields increase by 20.9 %. When constant GS and CO₂ fertilization are both integrated into the model, the predicted rice yield increases by 28.6 %. In summary, the rice yields in China are predicted to decrease in the 2040s by 0.22 t/ha due to climate change, to increase by 0.44 t/ha due to a constant GS and to increase by 1.65 t/ha due to CO₂ fertilization. The benefits of crop adaptation would completely offset the negative impact of climate change. In the future, the most of the positive effects of climate change are expected to occur in northeastern and northwestern China, and the expansion of rice cultivation in northeastern China should further enhance the stability of rice production in China.     

Impacts of irrigation on dry season precipitation in India

There is a lack of observed data-based studies examining the role of enhanced soil moisture conditions (due to irrigation) on the prevailing precipitation. Therefore, in the present study, we have examined the impacts of the Green Revolution (GR) related expansion of irrigation and changes in dry season (the rabi (November to May) and the zaid (March to June)) precipitation in India. The results for some regions indicated decreasing and increasing trend in precipitation during the pre- and post-GR periods, respectively. For example, in eastern Madhya Pradesh, the pre- and post-GR precipitation trends for the zaid season were ?0.45 and 2.40?mm?year^?1, respectively. On the other hand, some regions reported lower rate of decline in precipitation during the post-GR period. This paper suggests that both positive and lower declining trend during the post-GR period were linked to increased precipitation due to the introduction of irrigation. The study has found up to 69?mm (121%) increase in total amount of precipitation for growing seasons during the post-GR period. Moreover, a 175% increase in average precipitation was also recorded. All irrigated regions show a notable increase in precipitation during post-GR growing seasons. It was found that differences in growing season average precipitation between the pre- and post-GR periods were statistically significant for most of the regions. For further verification of results, the MM5 and Noah land surface model were applied. These applications show changes in precipitation and various precipitation controlling factors due to changes in soil moisture.     

气候变化背景下中国陆地水循环时空演变

水循环是气候系统各子系统相互作用过程中一个最活跃的枢纽,受气候变化影响显著。本文采用观测和多套再分析数据,系统分析了1979年以来中国及各大流域大气水汽含量、降水、蒸散发和地表径流等水循环要素年际变化。研究发现,1979-2018年,中国陆地整层大气水汽含量和水汽收支呈显著上升趋势;水汽收支除在松花江和西南诸河略有下降,其余流域均呈上升趋势;降水除西北诸河流域呈现显著上升趋势外,其余流域变化不显著;蒸散发整体呈微弱增加,但南方大部流域呈现显著的减小趋势;除西北诸河径流显著上升趋势外,北方大部分流域地表径流呈现减少趋势,而南方流域的径流变化趋势复杂多样。相对1979-2000年,21世纪以来中国年平均气温上升约0.63℃,年降水量、大气水汽含量分别增加0.5%和1.2%,水汽总输入和输出量均减小,降水再循环率增加10.9%。进入21世纪,中国陆地水资源一级分区内循环均较前20 a活跃,降水再循环率除松花江和辽河流域外,均有所增加。其中,海河、黄河、淮河和西北诸河流域的水汽和蒸发形成的降水都有所增加;辽河流域蒸发形成的降水有所增加,但输入水汽减少导致流域降水减少最多;松花江、长江、珠江和西南诸河流域蒸发形成的降水增加,输入水汽减少导致降水略有减少;东南诸河蒸发形成的降水略有增加,但整体变化不大。     

广西右江河谷旱作灌溉需水量变化特征

利用百色、田阳、田东和平果气象观测站1971~2013年历年实测的逐日降水量资料以及平果站1990~2013年甘蔗、1994~2013玉米发育期观测资料,采用美国农业部土壤保持局推荐的有效降水量计算法,对右江河谷甘蔗、玉米旱作各生育期需水量、水分盈亏、灌溉需水量情况以及变化规律进行分析。结果表明,右江河谷各县区甘蔗以及除平果外大部分县区玉米的全生育期平均水分条件是亏缺的,甘蔗全生育期水分亏缺主要由茎伸长-成熟期缺水引起,该生育期阶段多年平均灌溉需水量为220mm;玉米全生育期水分亏缺则主要由播种-出苗及乳熟-成熟期缺水引起,其中以播种-出苗期缺水最多,该发育阶段多年平均灌溉需水量为30mm。近40年来,右江河谷甘蔗各生育期有效降水量和水分盈亏指数的变化呈减少和下降的趋势,灌溉需水量的变化则呈增加趋势;大部分县区玉米除乳熟-成熟期外,其余各生育期有效降水量和水分盈亏指数的变化呈微弱减少和下降趋势,灌溉需水量的变化则呈微弱增加趋势。     

Adaptation to climate change in Bangladesh

Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect agriculture in Bangladesh; however, there is limited information on smallholder farmers’ overall vulnerability and adaptation needs. This article estimates the impact of climatic shocks on the household agricultural income and, subsequently, on farmers’ adaptation strategies. Relying on data from a survey conducted in several communities in Bangladesh in 2011 and based on an IV probit approach, the results show that a 1 percentage point (pp) climate-induced decline in agricultural income pushes Bangladeshi households to adapt by almost 3 pp. Moreover, Bangladeshi farmers undertake a variety of adaptation options. However, several barriers to adaptation were identified, noticeably access to electricity and wealth. In this respect, policies can be implemented in order to assist the Bangladeshi farming community to adapt to climate change.

Policy relevance

This study contributes to the literature of adaptation to climate change by providing evidence of existing risk-coping strategies and by showing how a household’s ability to adapt to weather-related risk can be limited. This study helps to inform the design of policy in the context of increasing climatic stress on the smallholder farmers in Bangladesh.     

An assessment of the potential impact of climate change on rice farmers and markets in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, the sixth largest rice producer in the world, has been identified as high risk from the effects of climate change. Many of the adverse impacts of climate change such as land inundation and changes in weather patterns and CO₂ levels will impact the agricultural sector. This study develops a partial-equilibrium multi-regional farm household model of Bangladesh rice and non-rice agricultural markets to quantify the impacts of climate change on consumption, production, prices, and farmers’ welfare. The model is calibrated to the Bangladesh rice market using Household Income and Expenditure Survey data. The model is simulated to analyze the impact of land reduction and productivity decline resulting from climate change. The results show that the decline in production in the coastal and northern regions offsets the production increase in the central and eastern regions, and the simulation predicts that total rice production for Bangladesh falls by about 2%. As total rice consumption falls and imports rise, the net effect leads to a rise in the rice price by 5.71% and a decline in farmers’ welfare. Sensitivity analysis shows that more- (less-) effective abatement technology could play a key role in mitigating (exacerbating) the price and welfare effects. The model predicts that many farmers in regions directly impacted by climate change could leave farming in search of off-farm work. Thus, the government can ease this transition by promoting urban development to provide more job options and technical training for farmers.     

Assessment of the impacts of climate change and brackish irrigation water on rice productivity and evaluation of adaptation measures in Ca Mau province,Vietnam

This paper presents applications of the peaks-over-threshold methodology for both the univariate and the recently introduced bivariate case, combined with a novel bootstrap approach. We compare the proposed bootstrap methods to the more traditional profile likelihood. We have investigated 63 years of the European Climate Assessment daily precipitation data for five Hungarian grid points, first separately for the summer and winter months, then aiming at the detection of possible changes by investigating 20 years moving windows. We show that significant changes can be observed both in the univariate and the bivariate cases, the most recent period being the most dangerous in several cases, as some return values have increased substantially. We illustrate these effects by bivariate coverage regions.     

Multi-factor impact analysis of agricultural production in Bangladesh with climate change

Diverse vulnerabilities of Bangladesh's agricultural sector in 16 sub-regions are assessed using experiments designed to investigate climate impact factors in isolation and in combination. Climate information from a suite of global climate models (GCMs) is used to drive models assessing the agricultural impact of changes in temperature, precipitation, carbon dioxide concentrations, river floods, and sea level rise for the 2040–2069 period in comparison to a historical baseline. Using the multi-factor impacts analysis framework developed in Yu et al. (2010), this study provides new sub-regional vulnerability analyses and quantifies key uncertainties in climate and production. Rice (aman, boro, and aus seasons) and wheat production are simulated in each sub-region using the biophysical Crop Environment REsource Synthesis (CERES) models. These simulations are then combined with the MIKE BASIN hydrologic model for river floods in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Basins, and the MIKE21 Two-Dimensional Estuary Model to determine coastal inundation under conditions of higher mean sea level. The impacts of each factor depend on GCM configurations, emissions pathways, sub-regions, and particular seasons and crops. Temperature increases generally reduce production across all scenarios. Precipitation changes can have either a positive or a negative impact, with a high degree of uncertainty across GCMs. Carbon dioxide impacts on crop production are positive and depend on the emissions pathway. Increasing river flood areas reduce production in affected sub-regions. Precipitation uncertainties from different GCMs and emissions scenarios are reduced when integrated across the large GBM Basins’ hydrology. Agriculture in Southern Bangladesh is severely affected by sea level rise even when cyclonic surges are not fully considered, with impacts increasing under the higher emissions scenario.     

Impact of climate change on Pacific Northwest hydropower

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) hydropower resource, central to the region’s electricity supply, is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NWPCC), an interstate compact agency, has conducted long term planning for the PNW electricity supply for its 2005 Power Plan. In formulating its power portfolio recommendation, the NWPCC explored uncertainty in variables that affect the availability and cost of electricity over the next 20 years. The NWPCC conducted an initial assessment of potential impacts of climate change on the hydropower system, but these results are not incorporated in the risk model upon which the 2005 Plan recommendations are based. To assist in bringing climate information into the planning process, we present an assessment of uncertainty in future PNW hydropower generation potential based on a comprehensive set of climate models and greenhouse gas emissions pathways. We find that the prognosis for PNW hydropower supply under climate change is worse than anticipated by the NWPCC’s assessment. Differences between the predictions of individual climate models are found to contribute more to overall uncertainty than do divergent emissions pathways. Uncertainty in predictions of precipitation change appears to be more important with respect to impact on PNW hydropower than uncertainty in predictions of temperature change. We also find that a simple regression model captures nearly all of the response of a sequence of complex numerical models to large scale changes in climate. This result offers the possibility of streamlining both top-down impact assessment and bottom-up adaptation planning for PNW water and energy resources.     

气候变化对延伸期预报的影响

10～30 d时效的延伸期预报,作为无缝隙预报预测体系中至关重要的一环,连接着天气预报和短期气候预测。受不断加剧的气候变化的影响,延伸期预报将面临更为重大的挑战。首先概述国内外延伸期预报现状,然后分析了全球气候变化对极端天气气候事件分布特征、关键环流系统可预报性等方面的影响,发现气候变化将导致延伸期预报难度加大、需求更加旺盛,同时也更加突显延伸期预报在防灾减灾方面的作用。进一步展望延伸期预报将面临的新挑战以及未来业务发展的新动向,提出了适应气候变化的应对措施和建议,如大力发展数值预报模式、深入开展延伸期预报机理研究、大力发展动力—统计相结合的预报方法以及尝试多学科交叉协作等。     

Impact of stratospheric variability on tropospheric climate change

An improved stratospheric representation has been included in simulations with the Hadley Centre HadGEM1 coupled ocean atmosphere model with natural and anthropogenic forcings for the period 1979–2003. An improved stratospheric ozone dataset is employed that includes natural variations in ozone as well as the usual anthropogenic trends. In addition, in a second set of simulations the quasi biennial oscillation (QBO) of stratospheric equatorial zonal wind is also imposed using a relaxation towards ERA-40 zonal wind values. The resulting impact on tropospheric variability and trends is described. We show that the modelled cooling rate at the tropopause is enhanced by the improved ozone dataset and this improvement is even more marked when the QBO is also included. The same applies to warming trends in the upper tropical troposphere which are slightly reduced. Our stratospheric improvements produce a significant increase of internal variability but no change in the positive trend of annual mean global mean near-surface temperature. Warming rates are increased significantly over a large portion of the Arctic Ocean. The improved stratospheric representation, especially the QBO relaxation, causes a substantial reduction in near-surface temperature and precipitation response to the El Chichón eruption, especially in the tropical region. The winter increase in the phase of the northern annular mode observed in the aftermath of the two major recent volcanic eruptions is partly captured, especially after the El Chichón eruption. The positive trend in the southern annular mode (SAM) is increased and becomes statistically significant which demonstrates that the observed increase in the SAM is largely subject to internal variability in the stratosphere. The possible inclusion in simulations for future assessments of full ozone chemistry and a gravity wave scheme to internally generate a QBO is discussed.     

Vegetation response to climate and climatic extremes in northwest Bangladesh: a quantile regression approach

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The present study assessed the vegetation response to climate in the water-stressed northwest Bangladesh (NWB). The quantile regression analysis was employed...     

Impact of climate change on low-flows in the river Meuse

In this study observed precipitation, temperature, and discharge records from the Meuse basin for the period 1911–2003 are analysed. The primary aim is to establish which meteorological conditions generate (critical) low-flows of the Meuse. This is achieved by examining the relationships between observed seasonal precipitation and temperature anomalies, and low-flow indices. Secondly, the possible impact of climate change on the (joint) occurrence of these low-flow generating meteorological conditions is addressed. This is based on the outcomes of recently reported RCM climate simulations for Europe given a scenario with increased atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations. The observed record (1911–2003) hints at the importance of multi-seasonal droughts in the generation of critical low-flows of the river Meuse. The RCM simulations point to a future with wetter winters and drier summers in Northwest Europe. No increase in the likelihood of multi-seasonal droughts is simulated. However, the RCM scenario runs produce multi-seasonal precipitation and temperature anomalies that are out of the range of the observed record for the period 1911–2003. The impact of climate change on low-flows has also been simulated with a hydrological model. This simulation indicates that climate change will lead to a decrease in the average discharge of the Meuse during the low-flow season. However, the model has difficulties to simulate critical low-flow conditions of the Meuse.     

Impact of future climate change on wheat production in relation to plant-available water capacity in a semiaridenvironment

Conceptions encompassing climate change are irreversible rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, increased temperature, and changes in rainfall both in spatial- and temporal-scales worldwide. This will have a major impact on wheat production, particularly if crops are frequently exposed to a sequence, frequency, and intensity of specific weather events like high temperature during growth period. However, the process of wheat response to climate change is complex and compounded by interactions among atmospheric CO₂ concentration_, climate variables, soil, nutrition, and agronomic management. In this study, we use the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM)-wheat model, driven by statistically downscaled climate projections of 18 global circulation models (GCMs) under the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A2 CO₂ emission scenario to examine impact on future wheat yields across key wheat growing regions considering different soil types in New South Wales (NSW) of Australia. The response of wheat yield, yield components, and phenology vary across sites and soil types, but yield is closely related to plant available water capacity (PAWC). Results show a decreasing yield trend during the period of 2021–2040 compared to the baseline period of 1961–1990. Across different wheat-growing regions in NSW, grain yield difference in the future period (2021–2040) over the baseline (1961–1990) varies from +3.4 to ?14.7 %, and in most sites, grain number is decreased, while grain size is increased in future climate. Reduction of wheat yield is mainly due to shorter growth duration, where average flowering and maturing time are advanced by an average of 11 and 12 days, respectively. In general, larger negative impacts of climate change are exhibited in those sites with higher PAWC. Current wheat cultivars with shorter growing season properties are viable in the future climate, but breading for early sowing wheat varieties with longer growing duration will be a desirable adaptation strategy for mitigating the impact of changing climate on wheat yield.     

冷湖地区气象要素变化及对天文观测的影响

基于青藏高原冷湖地区的气象观测资料,开展了气象要素变化及对天文观测的影响研究,从气温-降水、云量-日照时数、大风-沙尘三个方面分析了在冷湖地区进行天文观测的可能性与合理性。结果表明：①冷湖地区年平均气温低,最高和最低气温差值存在年代际转折特征,转折后气温差值降低（最低气温增加趋势超过最高气温）,降水量较少,夏季降水减少而其他季节降水增加,低温少雨的环境有利于大气层结稳定、减少湍流,提升天文观测数据质量;②日照时数在年代际转折以后增加,云量减少,低云量有助于电磁波的传播、提升天文观测精度;③风速和大风日数在转折以后均为减弱趋势,这使得浮尘日数也减少,这有助于减少天文观测仪器的磨损、增加天文观测仪器的使用寿命。     

Impact of land surface processes on the South American warm season climate

The present study demonstrates that (1) the simulation of the South American warm season (December?CFebruary) climate by an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) is sensitive to the representation of land surface processes, (2) the sensitivity is not confined to the ??hot spot?? in Amazonia, and (3) upgrading the representation of those processes can produce a significant improvement in AGCM performance. The reasons for sensitivity and higher success are investigated based on comparisons between observational datasets and simulations by the AGCM coupled to either a simple land scheme that specifies soil moisture availability or to the Simplified Simple Biosphere Model (SSiB) that allows for consideration of soil and vegetation biophysical process. The context for the study is the UCLA AGCM. The most notable simulation improvements are along the lee of the Andes in the lower troposphere, where poleward flow transports abundant moisture from the Amazon basin to high latitudes, and in the monsoon region where the intensity and pattern of precipitation and upper level ice water content are more realistic. It is argued that a better depiction of the Chaco Low, which is controlled by local effects of land surface processes, decisively contributes to the superior model performance with low-level flows in central South America. The better representation of the atmospheric column static stability and large-scale moisture convergence in tropical South America contribute to more realistic precipitation over the monsoon region. The overall simulation improvement is, therefore, due to a combination of different regional processes. This finding is supported by idealized AGCM experiments.     

Impact of carbonaceous aerosol emissions on regional climate change

The past and future evolution of atmospheric composition and climate has been simulated with a version of the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). The system consists of the atmosphere, including a detailed representation of tropospheric aerosols, the land surface, and the ocean, including a model of the marine biogeochemistry which interacts with the atmosphere via the dust and sulfur cycles. In addition to the prescribed concentrations of carbon dioxide, ozone and other greenhouse gases, the model is driven by natural forcings (solar irradiance and volcanic aerosol), and by emissions of mineral dust, sea salt, sulfur, black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM). Transient climate simulations were performed for the twentieth century and extended into the twenty-first century, according to SRES scenario A1B, with two different assumptions on future emissions of carbonaceous aerosols (BC, POM). In the first experiment, BC and POM emissions decrease over Europe and China but increase at lower latitudes (central and South America, Africa, Middle East, India, Southeast Asia). In the second experiment, the BC and POM emissions are frozen at their levels of year 2000. According to these experiments the impact of projected changes in carbonaceaous aerosols on the global mean temperature is negligible, but significant changes are found at low latitudes. This includes a cooling of the surface, enhanced precipitation and runoff, and a wetter surface. These regional changes in surface climate are caused primarily by the atmospheric absorption of sunlight by increasing BC levels and, subsequently, by thermally driven circulations which favour the transport of moisture from the adjacent oceans. The vertical redistribution of solar energy is particularly large during the dry season in central Africa when the anomalous atmospheric heating of up to 60 W m⁻² and a corresponding decrease in surface solar radiation leads to a marked surface cooling, reduced evaporation and a higher level of soil moisture, which persists throughout the year and contributes to the enhancement of precipitation during the wet season.