Water Resources Management - Practices of Irrigation and On-farm Water Management - page 186

demand. Higher temperature implies greater vegetative water consumption, par-
ticularly through evapotranspiration. The present percentage of water consumption
may change when climate changes occur. Consequently, recharge to groundwater
basins and surface runoff will decrease. Precipitation changes are not envisaged to
change the water demand of irrigated crops in many parts of the world (e.g., Jordan,
Bangladesh, India), as most of the irrigated crops are grown in the dry season, where
no significant rainfall occurs.
5.6.1.3 Impact on Municipal, Industrial Use
Climate changes due to increased CO 2 and trace gases may affect the water supply
for municipal and industrial uses. Also such changes may have an impact on water
demand.
The secondary impacts of climate are as follows:
- flood
- drought
- coastal flooding
- salinity
- cyclone
- cold spell
- heat wave
Drought limits surface irrigation potential in drought-vulnerable areas and challenge
food sufficiency programs of the country. Drought and flood affect the follow-
ing aspects: quality of life, food security, economic development, and ecosystem
sustainability.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a body set
up in 1988 to investigate global warming, agricultural impacts could be significant
and water resources could be altered with relatively small climate changes causing
large water resource problems in drought-prone areas. This implies that for regions
which already experience water supply problems, it is prudent to include a global
climate change dimension in planning studies. Long-term water supply planning,
incorporating economic and regulatory instruments, needs to include an assessment
of the sensitivity of the water resources to climate change in addition to forecasts of
future water demand.
5.6.2 Adaptation Alternatives to the Climate Change
Potential measures to cope with the possible climate change are as follows:
(i) Structural
- increase freshwater supply by constructing dam, reservoir, etc.
- strengthen flood mitigation measures. Raise embankment to stop overtop-
ping during flood