Climate Change and Water Flow Relationship: Shigar Basin Pakistan

Arshad Ali

doi:10.3759/jowrem.v2i1.1755

Abstract

Glacier melting leading to its fluctuation, in one way indicates change in the climate whereas in another way poses water resource management problems for the policy makers and disaster managers. Pakistan is drained by Indus River, whose upper basin runs across Hindukash-Karakorum-Himalayan Range which houses the largest cryosphere after both the poles. From hydro-climatological data for period from 1985 to 1997, the analysis show very weak relationship between precipitation and Shigar Basin outflows as the flows in Shigar River mainly comprise melt water whereas strong relationships between maximum and minimum temperatures and river flows are found. For climatological data for period from 1980 to 2010, from the nearest Automated Weather Station (AWS) located at Skardu, the analysis show slight increasing trend (0.024 °C/year) in maximum temperature, slight decreasing trend (0.018 °C/year) in minimum temperature and slight increasing trend (0.174 mm/year) in precipitation.