Hydrologic sensitivity of Indian sub-continental river basins to climate change

Climate change may pose profound implications for hydrologic processes in Indian sub-continental river basins. Using downscaled and bias corrected future climate projections and the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), we show that a majority of the Indian sub-continental river basins are projected to shift towards warmer and wetter climate in the future. During the monsoon (June to September) season, under the representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 (8.5), the ensemble mean air temperature is projected to increase by more than 0.5 (0.8), 1.0 (2.0), and 1.5 (3.5) °C in the Near (2010-2039), Mid (2040-2069), and End (2070-2099) term climate, respectively. Moreover, the sub-continental river basins may face an increase of 3-5 °C in the post-monsoon season under the projected future climate. While there is a large intermodel uncertainty, robust increases in precipitation are projected in many sub-continental river basins under the projected future climate especially in the Mid and End term climate. A sensitivity analysis for the Ganges and Godavari river basins shows that surface runoff is more sensitive to change in precipitation and temperature than that of evapotranspiration (ET). An intensification of the hydrologic cycle in the Indian sub-continental basins is evident in the projected future climate. For instance, for Mid and End term climate, ET is projected to increase up to 10% for the majority of the river basins under both RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. During the monsoon season, ensemble mean surface runoff is projected to increase more than 40% in 11 (15) basins under the RCP 4.5 (8.5) scenarios by the end of the 21st century. Moreover, streamflow is projected to increase more than 40% in 8 (9) basins during the monsoon season under the RCP 4.5 (8.5) scenarios. Results show that water availability in the sub-continental river basins is more sensitive towards changes in the monsoon season precipitation rather than air temperature. While in the majority of the sub-continental river basins, water availability is projected to increase, spatial and temporal (interannual) variability in the monsoon season precipitation under the projected future climate may play a significant role. Changes in the hydrologic processes under the projected future climate indicate that substantial efforts may be required to develop water management strategies in the Indian sub-continental river basins in the future.