Researchers to explore if Ganges River water use affects climate

Thursday 27 October 2011 - By Colin Smith Determining if water usage patterns in northern India over the last 50 years are affecting the climate is the focus of new international £1.1 million collaboration announced today. Researchers from Imperial College London are part of a UK and Indian academic consortium that is developing the most comprehensive computer models yet of the water cycle in the Ganges River Basin, which is one of the most heavily populated and farmed river basins in the world. The aim of the four year project is to determine if overuse of ground water resources is impacting on the fragile monsoonal climate in the region. A deeper understanding of the complex water cycle in the Ganges River Basin system could lead to improved water management policies and a better understanding of the climate. The last half century has seen a rapid development in the Ganges River Basin, which has led to the adoption of intensive farming practices and massive urbanisation. The equivalent of around 7 million Olympic sized swimming pools of water is drained from underground water reserves each year. Through poor water distribution systems and groundwater over exploitation, much of the water is lost, evaporating into the atmosphere.