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The Indus River Basin is characterized by downstream areas with the world's largest irrigation system, providing food and energy security to more than 215 million people. The arid to semiarid basin is classified as a net water deficit area, but it also suffers from devastating floods. Among the four basin countries, Pakistan is most dependent on wa...
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... Indus Basin covers an area of about 1.10 million km 2 distributed among Pakistan (63%), India (29%), and the People's Republic of China and Afghanistan (8%) ( Jain et al 2009). The main river originates at Lake Ngangla Rinco on the Tibetan Plateau in the People's Republic of China and includes the flow of such tributaries as Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej in India; Swat, Chitral, Gilgit, Shigar, Shyok, Indus, Shingo, Astor, Jhelum, and Chenab in Pakistan; and Kabul River draining parts of catchments in Afghanistan ( Figure 1). ...
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... hydrological significance of glaciers in the basin is very high (UNEP 2007). About 40% of the meltwater originates from glaciers in the Indus Basin (Immerzeel et al 2010). The glacier environment of the greater Himalayan region is still a large ''black box,'' as shown by the great variance in reported results on glacier numbers, area, and ice volume. ...
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... To assess the sub-basin level SKT analysis, the study area is divided into four major basins, viz., (1) Lower Indus (LI) (44.5%), (2) Panjnad (P) (25.5%), (3) Upper Indus (UI) (22.2%), and (4) Kabul (K) (7.6%) (Fig. 1a). Major tributaries in the Upper Indus are the Shyok, Hunza, Gilgit, Shigar, Zanskar, Astor, and Shingo; in the Kabul basin are Panjsher-Ghorband, Alingar-Alishing-Nuristan, Kunar, and Swat; in Panjnad basin are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, and the major low-lying region of the IRB is part of Lower Indus Basin (Karki et al. 2011;Fig. 1a). ...
The Earth’s skin temperature (SKT) can be useful for monitoring the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the energy exchange of land–atmosphere in the world’s mountains and adjacent plains. Thus, this study aims to analyze the distribution and trends of SKT in the Indus River Basin (IRB) using reanalysis and remote sensing data from 1981 to 2021 by applying the Theil Sen slope estimator and Mann–Kendall significance test. It explores how SKT interacts with various factors, including air temperature (at 2 m), total cloud cover, land use/land cover, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and snow cover area, using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. The findings show a significantly rising trend in the annual mean SKT of the basin (0.32 °C/decade). The highest SKT warming is found in post-monsoon (0.53 °C/decade), followed by pre-monsoon (0.51 °C/decade), winter (0.44 °C/decade), and monsoon (0.38°C/decade).
Among the sub-basins of the IRB, Kabul (0.39 °C/decade) is experiencing the highest warming trend, followed by Upper Indus (0.35 °C/decade), Panjnad (0.29 °C/decade), and Lower Indus (0.27 °C/decade). The study also found enhanced warming in the basin at elevations between 1500 and 4500 m asl. The warming trends in the study area with local variations may be ascribed to the rising air temperature, total cloud cover, NDVI, and decreasing snow cover area. The rising SKT may seriously affect the basin’s energy balance and ecosystem. The present study would help to improve the understanding of the SKT dynamics in land and water resource planning of the study region.
... Spatial data generated through flood mapping, risk assessments, and vulnerability analyses provide crucial insights for planners and policymakers. 3D modeling has been employed to assess the vulnerability of urban infrastructure to floods to guide retrofitting efforts [90]. In Nepal, GIS-based early warning systems have been integrated with evacuation route planning to ensure that communities in flood-prone areas receive timely alerts and have access to safe evacuation routes [91,92]. ...
... In India, mobile applications and social media have been leveraged to disseminate real-time flood information and engage citizens in reporting flood impacts [94,95]. In Nepal and India, collaborative efforts have been initiated to share hydrological data and coordinate flood management strategies in the Ganges River basin [90][91][92]. GIS-based flood vulnerability mapping in Sri Lanka has informed climate-resilient urban design strategies [88,93]. ...
Floods have catastrophic effects worldwide, particularly in monsoonal Asia. This systematic review investigates the literature from the past two decades, focusing on the use of remote sensing (RS), Geographic Information Systems (GISs), and technologies for flood disaster management in South Asia, and addresses the urgent need for effective strategies in the face of escalating flood disasters. This study emphasizes the importance of tailored GIS- and RS-based flood disaster studies inspired by diverse research, particularly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. Our dataset comprises 94 research articles from Google Scholar, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. The analysis revealed an upward trend after 2014, with a peak in 2023 for publications on flood-related topics, primarily within the scope of RS and GIS, flood-risk monitoring, and flood-risk assessment. Keyword analysis using VOSviewer revealed that out of 6402, the most used keyword was “climate change”, with 360 occurrences. Bibliometric analysis shows that 1104 authors from 52 countries meet the five minimum document requirements. Indian and Pakistani researchers published the most number of papers, whereas Elsevier, Springer, and MDPI were the three largest publishers. Thematic analysis has identified several major research areas, including flood risk assessment, flood monitoring, early flood warning, RS and GIS, hydrological modeling, and urban planning. RS and GIS technologies have been shown to have transformative effects on early detection, accurate mapping, vulnerability assessment, decision support, community engagement, and cross-border collaboration. Future research directions include integrating advanced technologies, fine-tuning spatial resolution, multisensor data fusion, social–environmental integration, climate change adaptation strategies, community-centric early warning systems, policy integration, ethics and privacy protocols, and capacity-building initiatives. This systematic review provides extensive knowledge and offers valuable insights to help researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and communities address the intricate problems of flood management in the dynamic landscapes of South Asia.
... This local climate stress is three times more than mean national temperature rising and two times more than mean global temperature (Stern, 2006, IPCC, 2001and IPCC, 2018. In indirect dimension, (Dahal, Hasegawa, Nonomura, Yamanaka, Dhakal, and Paudyal, 2008), (Malla, 2008) and Karki, Shrestha, and Winiger (2011) notes like the national climate stress in climatic disasters. Studies (Bista, 2019, Malla, 2008, Karki, Shrestha, and Winiger, 2011, Pant, 2011, Bhandari, 2013, and Karn, 2014 supplemented with its critical adverse effects in agriculture. ...
... In indirect dimension, (Dahal, Hasegawa, Nonomura, Yamanaka, Dhakal, and Paudyal, 2008), (Malla, 2008) and Karki, Shrestha, and Winiger (2011) notes like the national climate stress in climatic disasters. Studies (Bista, 2019, Malla, 2008, Karki, Shrestha, and Winiger, 2011, Pant, 2011, Bhandari, 2013, and Karn, 2014 supplemented with its critical adverse effects in agriculture. However, none of these studies have covered specifically climate stress in wheat production and local adaptation alternatives of wheat farmers. ...
Experiencing climate induced water stress in crop cycle and pattern in the different elevation in the Himalayan country, Nepal as a reflection of the 4th ranks climatic worst-hit country, food crops are identified as a highly exposed and sensitive to climate change. This study examines the fixed effect of low-cost technology and climate induced water stress on wheat crop in the steep elevation hilly areas in Nepal. Using the cross-sectional data collected from the survey of 642 households in the water basin areas, the study employs Cobb Douglas (CD) production econometric model. In the steep elevation, raising average temperature per annum (c0y-1) in summer and winter seasons and declining average rainfall per annum (Rmy-1) in winter and increasing in monsoon season have resulted multiple hazards, flood and landslides particularly in monsoon season rather than winter season. Secondly, like paddy crops, wheat crops were highly exposed to temperature and rainfall and further disastrous. As the fixed effect of climate induced water stress and flood disaster, large and small wheat producers have lost on average 40 percent of total production per hectare in one crop cycle. However, as a treatment group with indigenous low-cost technology, 60 percent of small farmers who used two techniques- shifting flood resilient seeds and constructing local bamboo wall could save 9 percent of their crops and production preventing the force of flood, loading heavy sediment of sand and stones at negligible cost. Low-cost local technology can minimize climate induced flood disaster’s adverse effects and losses in wheat crop in rural areas in Nepal. It is friendly to small farmers living in the socio-economic vulnerable and subsistence. This result of the study will be a good lesson learnt and valuable input to the farmer to resolve widely climate induced flood disaster stress through low-cost local technology for improving their preparedness and resilience to some extent. Further, it would be a valuable input to local and national government to focus on low-cost local technology more than high-cost advanced technology for sustainable farming policy and practices. Furthermore, it is expected it would save crops for reducing food vulnerability and stress in the steep elevation for food security and welfare all over a year.
... Snowfall during the winter season is a potential water source for the forthcoming cropping season (fAzLur-rAhmAn et al. 2014;whitemAn 1988). However, climate change places superfluous stress on irrigation water, increasing vulnerability and leading to severe irrigation water shortages (KArKi et al. 2011;unicef 2017). To cope with water scarcity, the inhabitants of the Eastern Hindu Kush have developed highly sophisticated irrigation governance and creative adjustment mechanisms through a trial-and-error basis over generations (dittmAnn and nüSSer 2002). ...
... The IRB is the second-most water-stressed basin in the world (Shrestha et al. 2015), and there are still many gaps in understanding of how the environment is changing there (Karki et al. 2011;Dimri et al. 2019). However, the area showed that there are several risks and uncertainty variables present, including shifting cryo-spherical, hydrological, biological, and atmospheric factors that are anticipated to have a significant impact on the region's water availability (Karki et al. 2011). ...
... The IRB is the second-most water-stressed basin in the world (Shrestha et al. 2015), and there are still many gaps in understanding of how the environment is changing there (Karki et al. 2011;Dimri et al. 2019). However, the area showed that there are several risks and uncertainty variables present, including shifting cryo-spherical, hydrological, biological, and atmospheric factors that are anticipated to have a significant impact on the region's water availability (Karki et al. 2011). Hence, a more comprehensive understanding of the variability and trend in PWV, which exert a notable influence on the hydrological cycle of the basin, is of immediate necessity. ...
... In the present study, the IRB has been further divided into four major sub-basins namely, Kabul (K), Upper Indus (UI), Panjnad (P), and Lower Indus (LI), which account for 7.6%, 22.3%, 25.6% and 44.5% of the total area of IRB, respectively (Fig. 1a). The river's main tributaries are Kabul, Shyok, Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas (Karki et al. 2011). The elevation ranges from only a few hundred meters in the south (LI) to almost 8000 meters above the mean sea level (AMSL) towards the north (UI) (Shrestha et al. 2015). ...
Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) constitutes a pivotal parameter within the domains of atmospheric science, and remote sensing due to its profound influence on Earth’s climate dynamics and weather patterns. It exerts a significant impact on atmospheric stability absorption and emission of radiation, thus engendering alterations in the Earth’s radiative equilibrium. As such, precise quantification of PWV holds the potential to enhance weather prognostication and fortify preparedness against severe meteorological phenomena. This study aimed to elucidate the spatial and temporal changes in seasonal and annual PWV across the Indus River Basin and its sub-basins using ERA5 reanalysis datasets. The present study used ERA5 PWV (entire atmospheric column), air temperature at 2 m (t2m) and 500 hPa (T_500hPa), evapotranspiration, and total cloud cover data from 1960 to 2021. Theil Sen slope estimator and Mann-Kendall test were used for trend analysis. Correlation and multiple regression methods were used to understand the association of PWV with other factors. The findings have unveiled the highest increase in mean PWV during the monsoon (0.40 mm/decade), followed by pre-monsoon (0.37 mm/decade), post-monsoon (0.27 mm/decade), and winter (0.19 mm/decade) throughout the study period. Additionally, the mean PWV exhibited the most pronounced positive trend in the sub-basin Lower Indus (LI), followed by Panjnad (P), Kabul (K), and Upper Indus (UI) across all seasons, except winter. Annual PWV has also risen in the Indus basin and its sub-basins over the last six decades. PWV exhibits a consistent upward trend up to an elevation of 3500 m within the basin which is most pronounced during the monsoon season, followed by the pre-monsoon. The escalating PWV within the basin is reasonably ascribed to increasing air temperatures, augmented evapotranspiration, and heightened cloud cover. These findings hold potential utility for pertinent authorities engaged in water resource management and planning.
... The total water flow in the basin is 171 Million Acre Feet (MAF), with 20% (34 MAF) in the eastern rivers and 80% (138 MAF) in the western rivers (Rossi, 2020). Due to various factors such as geography, politics, society, and economics, India and Pakistan are major stakeholders in the Indus River Basin (Karki, Shrestha, & Winiger, 2011). ...
The Indus Waters Treaty was created in 1960 to allocate water between India and Pakistan. Climate change was not considered then, but hydrology and conflict resolution have progressed. Climate change has altered water availability, including volume, timing, frequency, and quality. Population growth, urbanization, and climatic events have impacted Pakistan’s water supply. This tension could escalate into conflict without addressing the treaty’s knowledge and practice gaps. Advancements in transboundary watercourse management, environmental monitoring, and data acquisition are necessary. Water remains a source of tension, and prompt action is needed to ensure sustainable water resource management. One possible solution to this issue is to integrate modern knowledge on climate change into the IWT and harmonize it with the current set of international water laws and regulations. Hence, it is imperative to formulate a framework enabling both countries to reach a consensus and introduce climate change-related clauses and provisions into the IWT.
... The total water flow in the basin is 171 Million Acre Feet (MAF), with 20% (34 MAF) in the eastern rivers and 80% (138 MAF) in the western rivers (Rossi, 2020). Due to various factors such as geography, politics, society, and economics, India and Pakistan are major stakeholders in the Indus River Basin (Karki, Shrestha, & Winiger, 2011). ...
The Indus Waters Treaty was created in 1960 to allocate water between India and Pakistan. Climate change was not considered then, but hydrology and conflict resolution have progressed. Climate change has altered water availability, including volume, timing, frequency, and quality. Population growth, urbanization,and climatic events have impacted Pakistan’s water supply. This tension could escalate into conflict without addressing the treaty’s knowledge and practice gaps. Advancements in transboundary watercourse management, environmental monitoring, and data acquisition are necessary. Water remains a source of tension, and prompt action is needed to ensure sustainable water resource management. One possible solution to this issue is to integrate modern knowledge on climate change into the IWT and harmonize it with the current set of international water laws and regulations. Hence, it is imperative to formulate a framework enabling both countries to reach a consensus and introduce climate change-related clauses and provisions into the IWT.
... The river system includes the Indus and its chief tributaries, the Kabul, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Satluj (in descending order from northwest to southeast). Although IRB is categorised as a water-starved area, it is also plagued by catastrophic flooding (Karki et al. 2011). There are millions of downstream residents who rely on the waters of these rivers for drinking, household use, agriculture, irrigation, and industry. ...
The Indus river basin (IRB) is one of the most depleted water basins globally, having significant challenges for its water sector. Monitoring of stable isotope composition (δ18O and δ2H) across IRB is a critical aspect that can provide deeper insights for investigating complex hydrological processes. This work analyses the spatial pattern of the isotopic signature using a comprehensive compilation of available datasets of the Global Network of Isotopes in River (GNIR) and Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP), along with the previously published isotopic studies in the Indus basin. Additionally, this work provides a detailed comparison of the isotopic signature of the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) and Lower Indus Basin (LIB). The IRBs water line was found to be δ2H = 7.89 × δ18O + 13.51, which shows a close similarity with the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), indicating the meteoric origin of the water with insignificant secondary evaporation prevailing across the basin. The Main Indus Channel (MIC) river water line (δ2H = 8.88 × δ18O + 26.05) indicates a major contribution from the meteoric origin (precipitation/rain) of water (Indian summer monsoon) with minimal effect of evaporation processes. The water line for UIB samples, (δ2H = 7.88 × δ18O + 11.94) was found to be moderately higher in slope than LIB samples (δ2H = 7.17 × δ18O + 7.16). However, the slopes of both UIB and LIB river water lines closely approached the slope of GMWL and were consistent with the slope of IRB water line, which indicates similarity in contribution of water sources. The higher slope and intercept in UIB suggest that meteoric water sources contributed to streamflow viz. from snow/glacier with insignificant evapotranspiration, which is also validated by the scarce vegetation cover in the UIB. However, the lower slope and intercept in LIB suggest stream water contribution from significantly evaporated groundwater and precipitation with a complete homogenization of discharge coming from the UIB. Results substantiate that distinct isotopic signatures found in different stretches of the IRB and along the MIC are caused by variations in basin characteristics, hydro-meteorological processes, water mixing, and minor influence of anthropogenic variables.
... Other case studies present success stories and learnings, with certain observable best practices, that can help to formulate templates for transboundary governance elsewhere. This includes avoiding military conflicts to thwart cooperation in the Indus River Basin through the Permanent Indus Commission [136,137] and the long-standing transboundary cooperation regarding the Great Lakes and other shared waterbodies between USA and Canada through the century-old International Joint Commission [138][139][140]. In Europe, the evolution and growth of multi-faceted cooperation in the Rhine River catchment [141,142] and the Danube [143,144] from a singular concern around water quality through various commissions and policy integration across scales in the Elbe River basin and combined action through International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe River (ICPER) [145] stand out significantly. ...
Governing and managing the allocation and use of freshwater has always been a complex and fraught undertaking. The challenges to effective and equitable management have been exacerbated by rising pressures on supplies caused by such drivers as population growth, urbanization and climate change. Moreover, vast quantities of water straddle international and other boundaries—four-fifths of the world’s largest river basins and hundreds of aquifers span such borders. This further complicates management and governance, which is subject to disparate legal, political, administrative, financial, cultural and diplomatic conditions. Recognition in the literature and in practice of ‘transboundariness’ dates to the 1970s and has grown since. The authors trace the evolution of transboundary water scholarship and identify five framings used in transboundary water governance and management: conflict and cooperation; hydropolitics; hydrodiplomacy; scale; and disciplinary approaches. Transboundary water management initiatives can be viewed through three broad strands: interventions, advancements in governance strategies and democratization of data and information for strengthening science–policy interaction. The authors close with a discussion of future directions for transboundary water governance and management, emphasizing the need for additional research on how to deal with climate-related and other mounting challenges.
... After years of intense negotiations, the treaty was finally signed by the President of Pakistan-Ayyub Khanand the Prime Minister of India -Jawaharlal Nehru, known as the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 (Kokab & Nawaz, 2013;World Bank, 1960). Figure 1: Map of the Indus river basin (Karki et al., 2011) Indus Waters Treaty is considered quite a successful treaty as it played an important role in peacefully resolving various contentions over water between India and Pakistan. However, there are some significant gaps in the treaty that mainly affect the water supply of Pakistan. ...
The history of India-Pakistan relations has been brimming with squabbles and conflicts since their separation in 1947. Except for the significant and lasting Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 for sharing river waters, little-to-none economic cooperation has taken place between the two riparian states. This paper analyses some noticeable gaps that have rendered this treaty obsolete such as the escalating influence of climatic changes on water resources of the region and some other shortcomings, namely the possible limits of shared water usage, unrestricted use of shared waters for power generation, rerouting of water, and the lack of synergistic projects. Moreover, due to the exponential increase in water and energy demand along with the aggravating depletion of water tables in Pakistan, the treaty is failing to secure the combined water resources of the Indus river basin. This study presents the policy perspective to guide future endeavours, ensuring the treaty’s survival as it needs the necessary adjustments to enhance the socio-economic cooperation between India and Pakistan, put in place the collective efforts for mitigation of risks posed by climate-induced disasters, and improve the management of water resources for collaborative development.
