Effects of climate change on water resources in Tarim River Basin, Northwest China

Based on hydrology temperature and precipitation data from the past 50 years the effects of climate change on water resources in Tarim River Basin in Northwest China were investigated. The long-term trends of the hydrological time series were detected using both parametric and nonparametric techniques. The results showed that the increasing tendency of the temperature has a 5% level of significance and the temperature increased by nearly 1°C over the past 50 years. The precipitation showed a significant increase in the 1980s and 1990s and the average annual precipitation exhibited an increasing trend with a magnitude of 6.8 mm per decade. A step change occurred in both the temperature and precipitation time series around 1986. The streamflow from the headwater of the Tarim River exhibited a significant increase during the last 20 years. The increase in temperature precipitation and streamflow may be attributed to global climate change.