Climatic impacts on spring disappearance in the Indian Himalayas

Due to climate change the drop in spring-water discharge poses a serious issue in the Himalayan region, especially in the higher section of Himachal Pradesh. This study used different climatic factors along with long-term rainfall data to understand the decreasing trend in spring-water discharge. It...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Netrananda Sahu, Suraj Kumar Mallick, Pritiranjan Das, Atul Saini, Takahiro Sayama, Ayush Varun, Anil Kumar, Ravi Kesharwani, Pawan Kumar Thakur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Geomatics, Natural Hazards & Risk
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19475705.2024.2433115
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Summary:Due to climate change the drop in spring-water discharge poses a serious issue in the Himalayan region, especially in the higher section of Himachal Pradesh. This study used different climatic factors along with long-term rainfall data to understand the decreasing trend in spring-water discharge. It was determined which climate parameter was most closely correlated with spring discharge volumes using a general as well as partial correlation plot. Based on 40 years (1981–2021) of daily average rainfall data, a rainfall-runoff model was utilised to predict and assess trends in spring-water discharge using the MIKE 11 NAM hydrological model. The model’s effectiveness was effectively proved by the validation results (NSE = 0.79, R2 = 0.944, RMSE = 0.23, PBIAS = 32%). Model calibration and simulation revealed that both observed and simulated spring-water runoff decreased by almost 29%, within the past 40 years. Consequently, reduced spring-water discharge is made sensitive to the hydrological (groundwater stress, base flow, and stream water flow) and environmental entities (drinking water, evaporation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration). This study will help researchers and policymakers to think and work on the spring disappearance and water security issues in the Himalayan region.
ISSN:1947-5705
1947-5713