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Introduction: One feasible way to prepare for the adverse effects of climate change in rainfed-dependent livelihood zones is through irrigation. This study examines small-scale irrigation practices and their determinants. Methods: Using structured survey questionnaires, interviews, and field observations, we used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from 380 randomly selected households. The data analysis involved percentages, problem confrontation index, Chi-square test, independent samples t-test, and binary logistic regression model. Results: The findings revealed that river/stream diversion (40%), using nearby springs (19%), and hand-dug walls (18%) were the predominant types of irrigation. At the same time, water scarcity (PCI = 743), land shortage (PCI = 345), and labor (PCI = 212) were the main impediments to irrigation practices. The binary logistic regression model revealed educational status (OR = 1.239, p < 0.05), headship type (OR = 0.246, p < 0.05), age (OR = 0.943, p < 0.05), relative agroecological location (OR = 7.605; 13.929, p < 0.05), family size (OR = 1.936, p < 0.05), land size (OR = 8.609, p < 0.05), responsibility (OR = 2.069, p < 0.05), and crop failure (OR = 0.389, p < 0.05) as factors affecting the adoption of small-scale irrigation. Discussion: We recommend offering financial assistance to farmers with limited resources to acquire and install labor- and water-saving irrigation systems. Training and extension services on operating and maintaining smallscale irrigation technologies should be provided. Timely information sharing is also necessary to increase the use of irrigation on a small scale as a feasible adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity and climate change led to changes in water management, especially in urban areas. RainWater Harvesting (RWH) is a promising technique that allows the collection and reuse of rainwater, as well as protecting sewage systems from overload. This article reviews the current state of RWH in Europe, including advantages, implementation, potential efficiency, usage requirements, quality, and treatment processes. The main findings include the importance of RWH as a sustainable water management technique, the historical background and renewed interest in RWH systems in recent years, the positive impact of RWH on reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the versatility of rainwater usage, and the potential cost savings and benefits in various regions. RWH systems are gaining popularity in Europe, particularly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Climate change and precipitation patterns affect rainwater availability and quality. RWH can be used for various purposes, including drinking, but requires proper purification for health safety. It is also being implemented in new locations like airports and large buildings. RWH systems have a high potential to overcome undesired results of climate change. Among that, numerous aspects still need to be considered in the future that allow the application of RWH systems on a larger scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity, a challenge expected to worsen with climate change, significantly hinders native plant community restoration. Enhancing seed‐based restoration requires methods to increase the water availability for seeds and seedlings. Surfactants and superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can improve soil water‐holding capacity and infiltration, but their use in seed enhancements remains underexplored. We investigated whether pellets containing surfactants or SAPs could improve seedling emergence of two native species (Rytidosperma caespitosum and Chrysocephalum apiculatum) common in temperate grasslands in south‐eastern Australia under different watering treatments. We used a randomized block design with five watering treatments to simulate predicted changes in precipitation for south‐eastern Australia: ambient, two reducing overall water volume, and two reducing watering frequency while increasing watering volume to maintain ambient treatment water volume. We explored four enhanced pellets (two containing surfactants and two containing SAPs) and non‐pelleted seeds. Our results showed that watering events with larger volumes but reduced frequency increased seedling emergence. Under these conditions, block co‐polymer surfactants further increased seedling emergence of C. apiculatum, while synthetic SAP pellets promoted emergence of R. caespitosum. Block co‐polymer surfactants decreased R. caespitosum emergence, and both SAPs reduced C. apiculatum emergence under reduced watering frequency. A 50% reduction in overall water volume significantly reduced seedling emergence for both species, regardless of seed enhancement. These findings suggest that surfactants and SAP pellets can improve the success of seed‐based restoration under ambient conditions and when rainfall events are larger in volume but reduced in frequency, but not when the overall volume of rainfall is reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study endeavours to substantially contribute towards alleviating the global water scarcity problem. The task entailed designing a computational model of a renewable energy-based evaporator. Using ANSYS Fluent, the CFD simulations of a three-dimensional conventional continuous single slope, single basin solar still were carried out in summer at 23.79°N, 86.43°E coordinates. With the optimized inclination condensation angle of 29° and water depth at 1 cm, the solar still recorded the highest hourly drinking water, about 1.5 kg m-2, at 11:00 h. The continuous production resulted in a water collection rate of 8.6 kg m-2 day-1, encompassing the production of all previous models. Additionally, compared with the literature correlation for solar still simulated mass, the Power model calculation was the closest, with a 12.4% variation. Furthermore, the study showcases that CFD is an economical, efficient, and easily diagnosable technique for designing solar stills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing concepts of water political economy focus on political bargaining within relatively static institutional and climactic environments. This article adds 'post' to water political economy to explore how non-stationary climate interacts with endogenous political institutions to create and magnify policy and behavioural uncertainties. These post-water political economy ideas are then applied to food security to explore potential future scenarios. The implications are terrible for poor people living in water-scarce, food-importing countries, but not much better for everyone else. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanisms underlying grapevine responses to water(-deficient) stress (WS) are crucial for viticulture amid escalating climate change challenges. Reanalysis of previous transcriptome data uncovered disparities among isohydric and anisohydric grapevine cultivars in managing water scarcity. By using a self-organizing map (SOM) transcriptome portrayal, we elucidate specific gene expression trajectories, shedding light on the dynamic interplay of transcriptional programs as stress duration progresses. Functional annotation reveals key pathways involved in drought response, pinpointing potential targets for enhancing drought resilience in grapevine cultivation. Our results indicate distinct gene expression responses, with the isohydric cultivar favoring plant growth and possibly stilbenoid synthesis, while the anisohydric cultivar engages more in stress response and water management mechanisms. Notably, prolonged WS leads to converging stress responses in both cultivars, particularly through the activation of chaperones for stress mitigation. These findings underscore the importance of understanding cultivar-specific WS responses to develop sustainable viticultural strategies in the face of changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warming and drying trends in the Mediterranean Basin exacerbate regional water scarcity and threaten agricultural production, putting global food security at risk. This study aimed to review the most significant research on future water availability for the Mediterranean agricultural sector under climate change (CC) scenarios published during 2009–2024. Two searches were performed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, to which previously identified significant studies from different periods were also added. By applying a methodology duly protocoled in the PRISMA2020-based guideline, a final number of 44 particularly relevant studies was selected for review. A bibliometric analysis has shown that most of the published research was focused on Southwestern European countries (i.e., Spain, Italy, Portugal) and grapevine and olive tree crops. Overall, the reviewed studies state that future Mediterranean water reserves may not meet agricultural water demands, due to reduced reservoir inflows and higher irrigation demands under future CC and socioeconomic scenarios. Regarding adaptation measures to improve water-use management in agriculture, the majority of the reviewed studies indicate that the use of integrated modelling platforms and decision–support systems can significantly contribute to the development and implementation of improved water/land-management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water management in mountainous regions faces significant challenges due to deep uncertainties arising from data scarcity, knowledge gaps, and the complex interplay of climate and socio-economic changes. While existing approaches focused on uncertainty reduction and water system optimization contribute to managing uncertainties, they often require probability distributions that can be difficult to obtain in data-scarce mountain regions. To address these challenges, we demonstrate the effectiveness of Exploratory Modeling and Analysis (EMA) in assessing water management strategies and identifying operational ranges that avoid future water scarcity. Through a case study in the complex and data-scarce Peruvian Andes, we employed EMA to run 12,000 simulations by 2050, incorporating deep uncertainties from climate and socio-economic scenarios, and hydrological modeling parameters. This analysis identified specific policy combinations demonstrating greater robustness across diverse scenarios and uncertainties. EMA explicitly identifies operational ranges of policies to avoid water scarcity but also highlights the conditions that might trigger policy failure. We also delve into the roles of the different factors used in EMA and their significance in water management applications. Our research illustrates that an exploratory hydrological modeling approach based on robust decision-making can foster a more informed decision-making process for long-term water adaptation in rapidly changing mountain regions under data scarcity and deep uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis is a recurrent motif in discussions of the environment in the Middle East. Concerns about water scarcity, food insecurity, climate disasters, and resource degradation play into common associations of the region with conflict, malfunction, and despair. Yet this single story obscures as much as it illuminates. In this paper, I draw examples from my work on Nile water politics, climate change, and bread in Egypt to illustrate the power of this dominant narrative and its limitations. I reflect on the multiple stories that emerge when we shift our starting point or scale of analysis. I argue for the need to move beyond thinking about the environment just as a problem space to consider it as the space in which people are living their daily lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study, carried out in Gujarat (India) between 2005 and 2021, aims to prepare dew and rain maps of Gujarat over a long period (17 years, from 2005 to 2021) in order to evaluate the evolution of the potential for dew and rain in the state. The ratio of dew to precipitation is also determined, which is an important metric that quantifies the contribution of dew to the overall water resources. Global warming leads, in general, to a reduction in precipitation and non-rainfall water contributions such as dew. The study shows, however, a rare increase in the rainfall and dew condensation, with the latter related to an increase in relative humidity and a decrease in wind amplitudes. Rain primarily occurs during the monsoon months, while dew forms during the dry season. Although dew alone cannot resolve water scarcity, it nonetheless may provide an exigent and unignorable contribution to the water balance in time to come. According to the site, the dew–rain ratios, which are also, in general, well correlated with dew yields, can represent between 4.6% (Ahmedabad) and 37.2% (Jamnagar). The positive trend, observed since 2015–2017, is expected to continue into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Awareness of the potential threat posed by drought necessitates the implementation of appropriate procedures to enable effective and systematic actions aimed at mitigating, or at least partially limiting, the impacts of drought events. This paper seeks to analyze the spatial and temporal changes of atmospheric drought in the period 1961–2020 and assesses drought hazards in southwest Bulgaria, which is a region susceptible to periodic water shortages. In this study, the standardized precipitation evaporation index (SPEI), accounting for both precipitation and temperature changes, was used to analyze drought characteristics. The analysis reveals significant temporal changes and spatial differences in drought patterns across southwest Bulgaria. The northeastern part of the region, including the Sofia district, exhibits the lowest risk of drought, while the central part of the region shows a tendency toward moderate and occasional low drought events. Some stations, particularly in the southern part of the region, consistently experienced more severe drought conditions (Blagoevgrad and Sandanski), as indicated by negative SPEI values in different time scales (3, 6, and 12 months). Results indicate an increased frequency of droughts during 1990–2020 compared to 1961–1990, which was driven by climate change and human activities. Across all stations and in both SPEI time scales, the period from the early to mid-1990s was characterized by significant droughts. The study of drought hazards using short-term and long-term SPEI analysis reveals different levels of drought risk and increased hazard from the northern to southern parts of the study area. The share of areas with a high drought hazard exceeds 40% of the territory in the areas with a transitional and continental-Mediterranean climate. Based on the results, the paper highlights the need to integrate drought risk assessments with regional planning to improve agricultural resilience and water resource management in response to anticipated droughts, especially in drought-prone areas such as southwest Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water scarcity risk induced by climate change is contributing to a sequence of hydrological and socioeconomic impacts. Certain numbers of related impacts are locked in already and are expected to be much greater in the future. So, there is still a lack of understanding of its dynamics, origin, propagation, and the mutual interaction of its drivers. In recent years, several model-based approaches have been introduced to tackle the complexity, dynamics, and uncertainty of water scarcity specifically. However, the coupled modeling while addressing different aspects of the risk of water scarcity under the climate change scenarios has been rarely done. For bridging this gap, in this research, the combination of complementary System Dynamics modeling and Bayesian Network was applied to Qazvin Plain in Iran with five AOGCM models under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios (126 and 585). Key findings of this research show: 1) Baseline risk assessment indicates a low probability of water scarcity; however, in the future 30-year time horizon with continuous change in hazard, vulnerability, and exposure for SSP126, the risk fell in the extreme category with an average probability of 41%. Under SSP585, the risk varies between extreme and high categories with an average probability of 47%. 2) Economic development, particularly regional gross domestic product (RGDP) in 2045–2054 in SSP585 can diminish the negative projected consequences of climate change and therefore investments in adaptation policies could offset negative consequences, highlighting the role of economic growth in climate resilience. 3) It is projected that crop yield and income will receive the largest negative effects due to cutting back the agriculture area. 4) Considering the interplay of climate change, economic development, and water extraction policies is essential for the design, operation, and management of water-related activities. The proposed integrated methodology provides a comprehensive framework for understanding climate change-induced water scarcity risks, their drivers, and potential consequences. This approach facilitates adaptive decision-making to address the evolving challenges posed by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan's unique geographic environment combined with climate change leaves it particularly vulnerable to water shortage issues. A new water resource recycling system that adheres to a Low Impact Development (LID) concept and utilizes existing permeable pavement techniques to mitigate water scarcity is presented in this study. The design routes water at the base and subbase layers of a permeable pavement toward a planter box in the median divider island or box culvert below the median divider island. Once the runoff has flowed into the bottom of the planter box or box culvert, it is available for plants via soil capillary action. Through evaporation or transpiration, the water is then returned to the atmosphere and integrated into the water cycle for localized microclimates. This study used a 3D printer to create a small-scale model of the proposed design. Using this small-scale 3D model, a series of capillary experiments were conducted to evaluate the permeable pavement water recycling system. Because the small-scale model is not suitable for long-duration tests, soil column experiments were also used. The soil was compacted to different relative compactions for a 3D model and the soil column experiments were used to evaluate the capillary rise height of the soil. The results showed that when using a silt with low plasticity soil (ML), under low relative compaction, the capillary water can reach the rooting level of appropriately selected plants. Therefore, if the soil around vegetation is correctly compacted, the vegetation's roots will have access to stored water. The proposed permeable pavement water recycling system represents a practical approach to managing stormwater runoff and achieving water conservation objectives. This innovative design not only aims to conserve and protect water resources but also supports sustainable water management practices, thereby helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is more frequent and intensified due to global warming. Changed conditions in Beijing‐Tianjin–Hebei region which is drier and warmer than before, make it necessary to investigate various optimized irrigation schemes in the winter wheat production. In this study, the DSSAT–CERES‐Wheat model verified by field experimental data was applied to simulate the yield of winter wheat in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region from 2010 to 2069a under RCP8.5 climate scenario. The irrigation schemes were set up by adjusting the irrigation amount and irrigation structure to evaluate their adaptive capacity to climate change. The results showed that the regional average yield reduction rates of potential drought were 81.98% and 78.86% in 2010–2039a and 2040–2069a, which were higher in the north than that in the south. The yield reduction rate of potential drought increased with the decrease of irrigation amount, and the adaptive capacity declined with the decrease of irrigation amount, under the same irrigation structure. When 3‐9‐6 irrigation structure was applied, the regional averages of adaptive capacity to potential drought were 28.30%, 26.23%, and 22.22% in 2010–2039a, 29.00%, 26.67%, and 21.76% in 2040–2069a. The shortage of water resources caused by climate change and the possibility of drought limit the potential yield of winter wheat as high as 80% in this region. Priority shall be given to meeting the water demand in jointing stage and filling stage. Irrigation scheme of 3‐9‐6 structure with 180 mm irrigation amount shall be recommended and its adaptive capacity to climate change is the strongest in the near term and the medium‐term. Even if a further 20% reduction in irrigation is applied (144 mm), the dual goals of reducing yield loss and saving 8.28 × 108 t irrigation water per winter wheat season can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is leading to increased frequency of extreme climatic events, higher temperatures and water scarcity. Tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) is an underutilized C4 cereal crop that harbors a rich gene pool for stress resilience and nutritional quality. Despite gaining increasing attention as an "opportunity" crop, physiological responses and adaptive mechanisms of tef to drought stress have not been sufficiently investigated. This study was aimed to characterize the dynamic physiological responses of tef to drought. Six selected tef genotypes were subjected to high-throughput whole-plant functional phenotyping to assess multiple physiological responses to contrasting water regimes. Drought stress led to a substantial reduction in total, shoot and root dry weights, by 59%, 62% and 44%, respectively (averaged across genotypes), and an increase of 50% in the root-to- shoot ratio, relative to control treatment. Drought treatment induced also significant reductions in stomatal conductance, transpiration, osmotic potential and water-use efficiency, increased chlorophyll content and delayed heading. Tef genotypes exhibited diverse water-use strategies under drought: water-conserving (isohydric) or non-conserving (anisohydric), or an intermediate strategy, as well as variation in drought-recovery rate. Genotype RTC-290b exhibited outstanding multifaceted drought-adaptive performance, including high water-use efficiency coupled with high productivity under drought and control treatments, high chlorophyll and transpiration under drought, and faster drought recovery rate. This study provides a first insight into the dynamic functional physiological responses of tef to water deficiency and the variation between genotypes in drought-adaptive strategies. These results may serve as a baseline for further studies and for the development of drought-resistant tef varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of climate change and soil erosion are significantly affecting agriculture in non-developed countries. In Mali, a country located in Western Africa, there is a drastic reduction in available fertile arable lands and water scarcity, which is damaging rural communities and affecting the development of vital infrastructures, consequently, decreasing people's incomes. There is a lack of information about the perception of these challenges among the small rural communities and the possible adaptation strategies can be applied. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine local farmer perceptions of climate change, soil erosion, and adaptation strategies conducting a survey among 200 farmers in 10 villages within the rural municipality of Méguétan, serving as a representative study case. Our results showed that farmers are aware of the challenges related to climate change and soil erosion and are willing to adopt some measures but conditioned by a range of traditional techniques. The most common strategies are: changing the sowing calendar, diversifying crops, using resistant varieties, having an alternative income, and following weather forecasts on the radio. Stone rows remain the most widely adopted technique to reduce soil erosion, with a knowledge rate of 88% and an application about 29%. The study also highlighted the increasing vulnerability of farmers to climate change and soil erosion due to insufficient material and financial resources. We conclude policies should pay attention to services and partners that invest more funds in technical assistance to strengthen adaptation strategies and teach the population, considering nature-based solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a persistent and devastating obstacle to crop production, affecting both humanity and livestock. The application of selenium (Se) effectively mitigates various types of abiotic stresses and enhances crop yield under unfavorable conditions. However, our understanding of how nano-Se (nSe) alleviates drought stress (DS) in soybeans is still limited. To address this gap, our study focused on assessing the effectiveness of foliar nSe application during the reproductive stage of soybeans. Three concentrations of nSe were applied to plants grown in pots filled with clay loam soil, simulating DS conditions. Our findings reveal that nSe spraying significantly promoted the accumulation of above-ground dry biomass and enhanced relative water content (RWC) and photosynthetic pigment over alone-DS treatment. Furthermore, nSe application boosted the activity and contents of protective enzymes and osmolytes, resulting in a dose-dependent reduction in electrolyte leakage (EL), reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Additionally, nSe improved stomatal characteristics and mesophyll cell ultrastructure, further mitigating the adverse effects of drought stress. These findings suggest the potential of nSe as an effective strategy to enhance soybean tolerance and potentially improve crop yields under drought conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China is an important base for grain production, dominated by rain-fed agriculture that relies on green water. However, in the context of global climate change, rising regional temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing drought frequency pose threats and challenges to agricultural green water security. This study provides a detailed assessment of the spatiotemporal characteristics and development trends of green water security risks in the Northeast region under the base period (2001–2020) and the future (2031–2090) climate change scenarios (SSP245 and SSP585) using the green water scarcity (GWS) index based on raster-scale crop spatial distribution data, Delta downscaling bias-corrected ERA5 data, and CMIP6 multimodal data. During the base period, the green water risk-free zone for dry crops is mainly distributed in the center and east of the Northeast region (72.4% of the total area), the low-risk zone is primarily located in the center (14.0%), and the medium-risk (8.3%) and high-risk (5.3%) zones are mostly in the west. Under SSP245 and SSP585 future climate change scenarios, the green water security risk shows an overall expansion from the west to the center and east, with the low-risk zone increasing to 21.6% and 23.8%, the medium-risk zone increasing to 16.0% and 17.9%, and the high-risk zone increasing to 6.9% and 6.8%, respectively. Considering dry crops with GWS greater than 0.1 as in need of irrigation, the irrigated area increases from 27.6% (base period) to 44.5% (SSP245) and 48.6% (SSP585), with corresponding increases in irrigation water requirement (IWR) of 4.64 and 5.92 billion m3, respectively, which further exacerbates conflicts between supply and demand of agricultural water resources. In response to agricultural green water security risks, coping strategies such as evapotranspiration (ET)-based water resource management for dry crops and deficit irrigation are proposed. The results of this study can provide scientific basis and decision support for the development of Northeast irrigated agriculture and the construction planning of the national water network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When facing new climate extremes, aquatic plant communities may experience more frequent or increasing durations of water shortages. Aquatic macrophytes of permanently inundated habitats (true hydrophytes) may lack the physiological or morphological characteristics that protect terrestrial plants from drying out. Aquatic hydrophytes with floating or emergent leaves are expected to be more resilient to droughts than completely submerged plants, as they have morphological characteristics adapted to air-exposed conditions. Therefore, we expected the latter to survive longer periods of air exposure and perform better with increasing drought than a completely submerged growing species. Here, we conducted a microcosm experiment and exposed two Potamogeton species—the completely submerged growing Potamogeton perfoliatus and the areal leaf producing Potamogeton nodosus—to different drought conditions (1, 5, and 15 days). We aimed to detect how two species with different growth strategies cope with and respond to increasing air exposures with waterlogged sediment. Both species showed a resistance to 1–5 days of drought but showed high mortality after 15 days. They displayed significant differences in all measured morphological responses (shoot length, side shoot, and leaf counts), plant chemistry (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate), and the produced biomass (shoot, root, leaves), and reacted significantly to increasing drought durations. Differences in their resistance were observed based on the mortality rate and morphological responses. To prevent long-term droughts and keep mortality low, we recommend to the water managers to identify areas of risk and increase water levels during dry periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the emerging issues of water scarcity in a hydrological realm, estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) at spatiotemporal scale is essential. It is crucial for understanding climate change, particularly for Pakistan's ongoing water resource management policy under the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), where water is given top priority. In situ techniques can quantify ET, but with a small spatial footprint, it cannot accurately depict its regional distribution. Therefore, geospatial techniques and data, especially high resolution satellite imagery, estimate ET for large heterogeneous surfaces. The Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) was employed in this study to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of ET in various climatic zones of Pakistan using Landsat 8 images. A total of 48 satellite images were processed for six study sites (Skardu, Kalam, Peshawar, D.I. Khan, Quetta and Tando Jam) for the summer months from 2013 to 2020. Accuracy of SEBAL-based ET was evaluated with ground-based ET. The model performs well with daily rate of ET under southern desert hot climate of Tando Jam with highest pearson's correlation coefficient (r) of 0.89, lowest root mean squared difference (RMSD) and mean bias error (MBE) of 0.42 mm/day and 0.26 mm/day, respectively. The steppe-hot and extremely humid climate of Peshawar follow Tando Jam, with r value of 0.82, RMSD value of 0.76 mm/day, and MBE value of 0.40 mm/day. Central desert hot climate of Dera Ismail Khan (D.I. Khan) has the lowest (though still better) r value at 0.74, while the other two indices (RMSD and MBE) do not differ significantly from other sites. A high RMSD (0.84 mm/day) for the daily ET rate is recorded in Skardu's northern, cold, snowy climate; the rest of the indices are comparable to D.I. Khan region. In Kalam, the ET rate for various land uses was calculated and was found highest for snow cover (4.66 to 6.45 mm/day), followed by forest cover (3.69 to 5.79 mm/day), and open water body (3.25 to 5.25 mm/day). The SEBAL model exhibited tremendous potential to be applied under a range of climatic conditions in this study. Evapotranspiration can provide vital information for monitoring hydrological extremes (droughts and floods), environmental protection, planning climate-resilient agriculture, combating climate change, and sustainable management of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three different socioeconomic developments are implemented at the national level in themacroeconometricmodel PANTA RHEI. While one scenario is oriented toward sustainability, a second one continues current trends. The third scenario is characterized by more dynamic socioeconomic development. This paper extends the impact chain methodology. Exemplary climate impacts and adaptation measures from literature are quantified for the transport, energy, and health sectors based on literature analyses and entered into the model. These are the interruption of a road due to flooding, cooling water scarcity for power plants due to drought, and higher health expenditures. Their quantifications are linked to the three different socioeconomic developments. The findings indicate that the economic costs of climate change may vary significantly across different socioeconomic scenarios. Climate impacts generate socioeconomic costs that can be reduced by adaptation measures. In the sustainability scenario, the negative economic impacts of climate change are significantly lower than in the other scenarios, especially in the energy and transport sectors. The effects are higher in the case of dynamic socioeconomic development. In contrast, socioeconomic development plays only a minor role for the effects in the health sector, which are mainly driven by demographic trends. The adaptation measures considered have positive macroeconomic effects, mainly due to lower damages, but also because of the additional investment activity. The model calculations quantify some impacts of climate change under different socioeconomic scenarios and assess the effects of climate risks and adaptation on critical infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of climate change and water scarcity threaten the stability of critical infrastructure systems in developing regions. In particular, the interconnectedness of energy systems, natural resources, economic growth, and social welfare requires a systems‐level framework to identify scenarios which most impact these systems. This paper evaluates and quantifies infrastructure system risk, defined as the influence of scenarios on system priorities. A scenario‐based multi‐criteria preferences model assesses system component priorities for a baseline scenario as well as climate and related scenarios. The shift in priorities between the baseline and other future scenarios define scenario disruptiveness, or level of risk. The methods are demonstrated for the case of the emerging renewable energy sector of Iraq. Twenty‐five renewable energy system assets are prioritized by an assessment of system success criteria, which include economic, social, political, and climate considerations. The system prioritization is reevaluated in the case of seven disruptive scenarios relating to water scarcity, climate volatility, and social and economic shifts. This paper advances methods of the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK) Part 3: Engineering and Management, by defining system risk and proposing methods for risk identification and risk analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to carry out hypothetical analysis of the climate variability performance using Pearson's product moment correlation in Anambra-Imo River basin. The objective is to achieve climate change solution in the river basin planning and management in order to bring together fragmented water users into integrated planning, allocation and management framework essential for climate change adaptation with goal potential to multiple sustainability challenges. The methodology involves the use of questionnaires to elicit responses of project workers and staff of the river basin. The result of the questionnaire responses show that the computed coefficient of correlation (r) is a linear trend line based on the scatter diagram. The work concluded that the responses of respondents are consistent. It was recommended that since many uncertainties in climate change projections impact on the ecosystem, optimal strategies should incorporate delivering benefits irrespective of climate conditions, through status assessment, understanding assumptions made, long term consistent monitoring of data, effectiveness and cost of efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate related changes are already affecting every area of our world and will increasingly do so as global warming increases, resulting in compounding and cascading risks across multiple locations and sectors. Deliberative processes and anticipatory actions are required to adapt to the associated complex and uncertain systemic risks, with dynamic and long‐term planning needed even where there is limited knowledge of the effectiveness of adaptation. In this focus article, we examine the adaptation pathways developed for the Europe Chapter of the IPCC AR6. We argue that illustrative pathways built on quantitative and qualitative assessment of adaptation effectiveness can inform adaptation planning to manage the increasing severity of risks. We find that as the global warming level increases adaptation pathways can diverge, leading to radically different futures, for example, adaptation responses to sea level rise. We illustrate how adaptation measures for different risks interact resulting in trade‐offs, for example, increasing water scarcity. Although pathways offer a useful framework to address multiple adaptation challenges, other supporting conditions are needed for the successful implementation of adaptation, such as establishing legitimacy and buy‐in through collaboration of various actors and effective governance. Ultimately, adaptation will be increasingly more complex and constrained in a warmer world, increasing risks of losses and damages to people and nature. This article is categorized under:Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for AdaptationThe Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Climate Science and Decision MakingAssessing Impacts of Climate Change > Evaluating Future Impacts of Climate ChangeVulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Learning from Cases and Analogies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant functional traits hold the potential to greatly improve the understanding and prediction of climate impacts on ecosystems and carbon cycle feedback to climate change. Traits are commonly used to place species along a global conservative-acquisitive trade-off, yet how and if functional traits and conservative-acquisitive trade-offs scale up to mediate community and ecosystem fluxes is largely unknown. Here, we combine functional trait datasets and multibiome datasets of forest water and carbon fluxes at the species, community, and ecosystem-levels to quantify the scaling of the tradeoff between maximum flux and sensitivity to vapor pressure deficit. We find a strong conservative-acquisitive trade-off at the species scale, which weakens modestly at the community scale and largely disappears at the ecosystem scale. Functional traits, particularly plant water transport (hydraulic) traits, are strongly associated with the key dimensions of the conservative-acquisitive trade-off at community and ecosystem scales, highlighting that trait composition appears to influence community and ecosystem flux dynamics. Our findings provide a foundation for improving carbon cycle models by revealing i) that plant hydraulic traits are most strongly associated with community-and ecosystem scale flux dynamics and ii) community assembly dynamics likely need to be considered explicitly, as they give rise to ecosystem-level flux dynamics that differ substantially from trade-offs identified at the species-level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the Earth's abundant water resources, potable water scarcity persists due to pollution from multiple sources. The escalating demand for water across households, agriculture, industry, and other sectors, compounded by economic growth and population expansion, forecasts a worsening situation. Climate change further exacerbates these challenges, heightening concerns over water pollution and scarcity. Water, fundamental to the sustenance of diverse life forms on Earth, underpins all biological processes. Water pollution, characterized by changes in physical, chemical, and microbiological properties resulting from hazardous substances, poses significant threats to the quality and hygiene of drinking water and its suitability for various applications. Efforts to safeguard water resources necessitate ongoing vigilance and strategic management informed by legal frameworks and contemporary understanding. Mitigating water pollution requires a multifaceted approach encompassing monitoring, addressing root causes, pollutant reduction, purification, conservation, and robust regulatory mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hsinchu Science Park (HSP) in Taiwan plays a vital role in the chain of semiconductor production, but water scarcity has been challenging semiconductor manufacturing. The Baoshan Reservoir (BS) and the Baoshan Second Reservoir (BSR) are two major sources of water supply to the HSP. However, the impacts of climate change on the water supply have not been analyzed. In this study, a hydrological model (i.e., SWAT) and an operation model of the BR and the BSR were coupled to assess the climate change impacts on the inflow, outflow, and water storage volume (WSV) of the reservoirs. The simulations were based on the weather data for the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5 scenarios of AR5 for the Periods of 2021–2040, 2041–2060, 2061–2060, and 2081–2100 derived from up to 33 GCMs/EMSs. It is found that more intensified global warming would generally result in more apparent rainfall seasonality that is wetter in the wet season and dryer in the dry season and more magnified seasonality in river flow. During the hotspot period of water shortage in the HSP from February to May, future water scarcity is expected to worsen. Among the 16 combinations of scenarios and Periods, 13 indicate lower WSV in the future compared to the Baseline. The annual mean number of ten-day periods with WSV lower than the operation rule curve ranges from 4.84 to 6.95 ten-day periods, higher than the Baseline of 4.81 ten-day periods. Overall, RCP6.0 has the most significant impact on the study area, with the highest annual economic loss occurring during the 2041-2060 period, reaching USD 1 billion (~2.37% of the 2023 annual production value) for the HSP. This study also provides a three-month cumulative rainfall threshold as an operational warning indicator for the HSP. Our assessment results indicate that future water supply to the HSP should be a serious concern for stabilizing the manufacturing processes and hence the global semiconductor component supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, rapid climate change has severely impacted people's lives globally, affecting their safety and sustainability. Water, a vital human resource, has been severely affected, with drought and high temperatures leading to desertification, the drying up of rivers and lakes, spontaneous fires in forests, and massive floods and torrents due to melting ice and rising sea and ocean surface water levels. The expected impacts of climate change on the Nile, Egypt's primary water source, are significant. These impacts can vary across regions, depending on factors like local climate, socio-economic dynamics, topography, and environmental nature. Upper Egypt, characterized by arid and semi-arid regions, faces water scarcity and socio-economic development challenges. Climate change exacerbates these issues, posing significant threats to the region's ecological sustainability and socio-economic development. Therefore, it is crucial to address these impacts to ensure the Nile's continued vitality and sustainability. The study aims to analyze the climate change data over the past few decades, analyze its characteristics, and model its effects on Upper Egypt's water sources. The study expected a big decrease in the water resources of the Nile. While what is currently occurring in terms of fluctuating rainfall rates between scarcity and severity contradicts the results of those studies, that is the best evidence of the need for further research and studies to obtain more reliable and consistent results with the reality that it may help decision-makers to develop scenarios to manage climate change effectively, preventing or reducing negative effects, and finding suitable alternatives. Studies predict a 10% decrease in Nile revenue at Aswan High Dam Lake by 2095, with some predicting a 30% increase. This lack of credibility underscores the need for more comprehensive studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has impacted viticulture in almost all of the Mediterranean area, mainly because of temperature rises and changes in precipitation patterns, thus influencing yield, quality, and the management of grape production. One of the measures to mitigate these effects is the adoption of irrigation strategies. This has environmental and economic implications. Thus, it seems essential to evaluate if irrigation is economically and environmentally justified to ensure the sustainability of the vineyard by preserving the water resource. The aim of this research is to compute wateruse indicators such as Water Productivity and Economic Water Productivity using field data obtained and to assess the economic impact of supplemental irrigation expenses through the analysis of a single case study. Since the results are heavily influenced by pedoclimatic conditions, vineyard structure, and economic decisions, the generalizability of our findings is not conceivable. However, our findings are valuable in determining when supplemental irrigation is or is not viable. Nonetheless, the findings might shed light on how water is managed in an Italian vineyard. Future supplemental irrigation plans ought to be developed using precision viticulture technologies to monitor the intricate soil-plant-environment system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resource modelling plays a crucial role in water resources management, but it involves many inherent uncertainties. This research investigates how epistemic uncertainties affect reservoir water budgets, projecting forward over a 30 year period using Monte Carlo simulation. It encompasses long-term variations in water demand, reservoir volume, precipitation, evaporation and inflow, while also considering siltation processes, reservoir dredging, population growth, reduced water consumption, and the hydrological impacts of climate change. The research focuses on fifty reservoirs in a semi-arid region of Brazil. The findings demonstrate that some reservoirs consistently met their demands with high level reliability, even within a wide range of uncertainty. Conversely, reservoirs with morphohydric indices indicating a tendency toward water scarcity are significantly affected by input variability introduced through uncertainty analysis. An empirical model is proposed to estimate the probability of these reservoirs achieving the reference volume reliability of 90%, while considering the uncertainties of: annual average inflow, reservoir maximum volume and annual demand. Sensitivity analysis reveals that reservoir inflow and demand are the two most influential variables affecting a reservoirs' ability to meet its demand. For over exploited reservoirs, variations in these variables strongly impact the volume reliability. This research provides a valuable tool for estimating the likelihood of reaching a 90% volume reliability, while taking into account the inherent uncertainties in the modeling process. Additionally, it identifies key variables that have the most influence on the reservoirs' ability to meet its demand. Notably, this study conducts uncertainty and sensitivity analyses in the context of physical and hydrological reservoir features for a large number of reservoirs, adding novelty to the research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir operation of inter-basin water diversion project can effectively alleviate regional water shortage. However, future climate change will change regional runoff processes, which poses significant risks to the operation of inter-basin water diversion projects. The study considers occurrence probability of risk sources and risk-bearing bodies vulnerability, to constructs a risk operation system based on runoff forecast. Taking the inter-basin water diversion project from Hanjiang to Weihe River as a case, the study has made three contributions. Frist, the study uses the risk theory to derive the risk degree formula that consider multiple uncertain factors. Second, the difference in water diversion scale between risk operating and optimal operating is analyzed. The risk operating system can transfer the risk of water diversion from the dry period to the wet period, and reduce the probability of extreme risk. Third, the risk transfer law from water source area to water receiving area is quantified, and the influence law of risk source elements on risk degree is clarified. Risk source and risk bearing body in water receiving area are directly related to water shortage and its probability distribution. With the increase of water shortage probability, loss rate of socio-economic decreases. The research results have important application value for risk control of inter-basin water diversion projects and regional security of water supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of intensified climate change and resource scarcity, the impact of water risk on corporate sustainable operation is increasingly prominent; firms must not only be aware of corporate water risks but also take actions in its comprehensive management. For the purpose of integrating literature on corporate water risk and to find research deficiencies and point out future research directions, based on the definition of corporate water risk proposed by the Carbon Disclosure Project, bibliometrics was performed to study the research focus, research hotspots, and research trends in this field by using CITESPACE software. Results showed: (1) researches mainly focus on corporate adaptation under climate change, and corporate environmental management and social responsibility; (2) research hotspots include corporate performance under climate change, supply chain sustainability under water scarcity, environmental regulation and firm performance, environmental strategy and stakeholder management, and so forth; (3) research focuses have gradually changed from the study of corporate behavior under regulatory policies to the physical risk management under climate change, until the comprehensive corporate water risk management. Based on the relationships between water and firms, this paper discussed sources, impact and theories of corporate water risk, and further proposed a new research perspective of value chain. This work not only helps researches understand corporate water risk and further study on it, but also helps enterprises be aware of corporate water risk so as to take actions to deal with it and achieve corporate sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change in desert areas and semi-arid watersheds may offer a promising solution for the water scarcity problem that Bedouins and local inhabitants face. This study investigated the integrated water resources management in arid and semi-arid regions using rainwater harvesting in combination with the managed aquifer recharge (RWH-MAR) technique. The study also used recharge wells and storage dams to achieve the sustainability of groundwater supplies in the context of climate change and management of the flow to the Gulf of Suez. Therefore, different return periods of 10, 25, 50, and 100 years were considered for the annual flood volume resulting from those watersheds. Moreover, hydrologic modeling was carried out for the El Qaa plain area, South Sinai, Egypt, using the Watershed Modeling System (WMS) and the groundwater modeling of SEAWAT code. Our findings show that for different scenarios of climate change based on return periods of 10, 25, 50, and 100 years, the aquifer potentiality reached 24.3 MCM (million cubic meters) per year, 28.8 MCM, 36.7 MCM, and 49.4 MCM compared to 21.7 MCM at 2014 with storage of groundwater ranges 11.8%, 32.1%, 69%, and 127.4%, respectively. These findings have significant implications for the system of RWH-MAR and groundwater sustainability in El Qaa Plain, South Sinai. The RWH-MAR proved to be an effective approach that can be applied in different water-stressed and arid regions to support freshwater resources for sustainable future development and food security, as well as protect communities from extreme flash flood events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide studies have related recent forest decline and mortality events to warmer temperatures and droughts, as well as pointing out a greater vulnerability to climate changes in larger trees. Previous research performed on silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) suggest an increasing decline and mortality, mainly related to rising water shortages. Here, we investigate these die-off events in two silver fir populations at the rear edge of the species in the western Pyrenees. We used dendrochronology to investigate tree age, size (diameter) and individual climate sensitivity (climate–growth relationships) as predisposing factors related to growth patterns and drought resilience indexes in canopy-level declining and non-declining trees. The regional climate was also investigated, including temperature trends, quantile regression in precipitation and frequency of extreme events in drought indexes (SPEI). The regional climate was characterized by an increase in mean temperatures and a higher frequency of extreme drought events in recent decades, without a decrease in total precipitation. Larger trees were more sensitive to temperature and prone to decline. Declining trees presented decreasing growth trends years ago, providing a robust predisposing trait. Both populations were not different in mean growth, despite the contrasting local climate and management legacies, although we identified a higher resilience to drought in the eastmost stand. A significant regression was found between growth trends and climate sensitivity, supporting that declining trees are more sensitive to warmer temperatures and drought. Hence, the results support a contrasting climate sensitivity related to tree size (but not to tree age), suggesting impending decline and mortality in large trees with higher temperature sensitivity (negative temperature–growth correlations). Nonetheless, contributing factors, such as the legacy of previous logging, should also be accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impacts hydrologic processes, compelling more regional water budget studies to understand spatiotemporal hydrological extremes. This study investigates the effects of climate change on water budgets, with a focus on soil moisture, in two Tennessee watersheds with different geoclimatic characteristics, the Obion and Nolichucky Rivers. Using the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) hydrological model, the study projects water budgets for these watersheds until 2099, analyzing annual and seasonal runoff, recharge, and soil moisture to identify trends and extremes. Results showed that an increase in temperature of 2.7°C–6.4°C and a change of precipitation by 1%–4% is predicted for Tennessee, which will impact seasonal patterns, water balances, and soil moisture regimes. The overlapping of such impacts can lower soil moisture below the wilting point during 40%–50% of the growing season, impacting crop yields. The study identifies field capacity, clay soil percentage, and organic matter as key factors impacting the spatial extremes of croplands' irrigation requirements. These findings underscore the need to understand soil moisture variability and extreme soil water conditions to optimize soil water management scenarios and mitigate future water shortage risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of global climate change and ecological restoration projects, significant changes have been observed in the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) in the Yellow River basin. The increased vegetation growth accelerates water consumption, exacerbating drought and water scarcity issues, thereby heightening regional water resource shortage risks. This study targets the Yellow River basin in China, employing a pixel-based model to convert NDVI into FVC datasets. We establish a pixel-wise mathematical model for annual runoff and environmental factors based on residual analysis and methods like multiple linear regression. Using climate model data from CMIP6 as independent variables, in conjunction with the statistical model, we elucidate the spatiotemporal characteristics of annual runoff in the Yellow River basin under future climate scenarios. Our results indicate that, under four different climate scenarios, the average annual runoff in the Yellow River basin is projected to increase. The increases are quantified as 0.008 mm/a, 0.065 mm/a, 0.25 mm/a, and 0.24 mm/a for SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios, respectively. From 2022 to 2040, the spatial distribution of the runoff change rates under the SSP245 and SSP370 scenarios show an increasing trend in upstream areas such as the Qinhe and Longmen regions, with rates ranging from 6.00 to 8.61 mm/a. During the period from 2041 to 2060, all four climate scenarios indicate minimal changes in the runoff depth in the northern part of the Yellow River basin. From 2061 to 2080, under the SSP126 and SSP245 scenarios, the spatial distribution of the runoff shows significant increases in the river source area and a decreasing trend in the middle reaches, with rates ranging from 4.52 to 11.39 mm/a. For the period from 2081 to 2100, the runoff change rates vary significantly under the four climate scenarios. These findings provide a detailed understanding of how future climate scenarios could impact water resource distribution in the Yellow River basin, offering critical insights for regional water management and policy making to mitigate potential water scarcity challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water scarcity will increase in the world in the coming decades due to climate change, especially in areas that currently already have water scarcity, such as the Mediterranean area. In these areas, to guarantee water resources, systems' sustainability is necessary to improve demand management and the development of non-conventional resources, such as treated wastewater reuse or seawater desalination. These non-conventional resources are highly energy-consuming; so, reducing energy costs is a key element in developing their use in different sectors, including agriculture. Combining photovoltaic solar energy with seawater desalination by reverse osmosis will reduce the cost of producing water to below 0.36 EUR/m3; so, this resource can be attractive for agriculture, as demonstrated in this work. The arrangement of bifacial solar modules in horizontal single-axis tracking systems increases the energy amount generated from the sun in one hour or more, improving the facility's efficiency and reducing the desalinated water cost. The greater distance between the solar module lines, with a ground coverage ratio (GCR) = 0.3, makes for a better environmental integration of the facility and allows the development of agrovoltaic strategies, such as native flora planting and pollinator colonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water stress occurs when the need for water surpasses its availability or when the water quality limits its use. Droughts and limited water supplies are becoming common in today's Europe, and its inhabitants experience such conditions annually. The rise in industrial growth and economic progress, which amplifies water consumption, changes in water ecosystems, and significant biodiversity loss contribute to this water shortage. This study analyzes the main factors for the level of water stress and lack of water in southern European countries. It aims to provide a clear overview of a twenty-year analysis of water stress contributing through statistical evaluations that help continental policymaking. Data proceedings are time series indicators for South European countries, with an annual frequency from 2002 to 2021. The statistical approach in the panel data model is used to find statistical significance, direct on-driven fixed factors, and so on. Fixed effects panel regressions demonstrate that the level of water stress in these countries is statistically significantly affected by climate change indicators (temperature and precipitation), economic indicators (water productivity and growth of the gross domestic product), and political stability. Factors such as population growth and agricultural land are statistically ambiguous and not strongly correlated with water stress. Governments should establish effective management systems and policies for water resources to address water stress, including groundwater, surface water, and rainwater. Dictated by the global and continental circumstances of climate change, governments should initiate strategic, efficient plans toward good use and sustainability of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong drying expected in the Eastern Mediterranean with climate change could cause mass migration of people already living under water shortages. On the other hand, precipitation is expected to increase toward the region's north, particularly those along the interior of the eastern Black Sea coasts, which could worsen existing floods. However, this double‐sided adverse phenomenon and its underlying reasons have been investigated by relatively low‐resolution models in the Eastern Mediterranean Black Sea (EMBS) region, where orographic precipitation prevails. This study performs 4 km resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations with and without climate change signals retrieved from a CMIP6 GCM ensemble via pseudo‐global‐warming (PGW). The WRF simulations captured the large‐scale dynamics affecting the EMBS fairly well: an anticyclonic low‐level circulation and enhancing subsidence stem from anomalous ridge development over the central Mediterranean in winter (DJF), and a cyclonic low‐level circulation and weakening subsidence rise from heat‐low development over the Eastern Mediterranean in summer (JJA). The resulting picture of future warming and drying over the area generally supports the literature, although new insights emerge in anomalous precipitation increase, especially in the summer season over the Greater Caucasus and nearby regions. Most likely, the warmer‐than‐expected Caspian Sea induces a large increase in specific humidity and, thus, a large moisture source in the lower troposphere and an extension of the heat‐low effect in the mid‐troposphere. In addition, the high‐resolution WRF simulations provide added value over the complex topography of the Caucasian Mountain range for new insights into this region. Plain Language Summary: One of the most vulnerable parts of the Mediterranean climate change hotspot is the Eastern Mediterranean Black Sea (EMBS) region. The future climate change signal of the state‐of‐the‐art CMIP6 GCM ensemble between 2071–2100 and 1985–2014 periods was retrieved for the region under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP5‐8.5). The signal was used to perturb ERA5 reanalysis data for the IPCC AR6 baseline period, 1995–2014, in the context of the pseudo‐global warming (PGW) method. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to obtain very high‐resolution (4 km) climate data. According to the study, the future winters were as expected: anomalous ridge formation over southern Italy, resultant northeasterlies over the EMBS, the large‐scale mid‐ and upper tropospheric subsidence, attenuation of the land‐sea temperature contrast and finally, strong drying. The summers exhibit negative vertical pressure velocity changes, strengthening Etesians, and strong surface warming in line with the expectations of the literature. However, summers brought anomalous precipitation to the Greater Caucasus and nearby areas in our high‐resolution WRF simulations. We think these new insights are primarily caused by the warmer‐than‐expected Caspian Sea stemming from the SST availability among the ensemble, a very convective environment for the region and better‐resolved complex‐orography‐induced precipitation. Key Points: The WRF‐PGW simulations perfectly capture the low‐level circulation change and warming/drying signals from CMIP6 for the EMBS in winterThe WRF‐PGW simulations show heat‐low formation over the EMBS in summer, in line with the CMIP6 GCM ensembleThe new insights appear in future summer precipitation increases over the Greater Caucasus and nearby regions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal snowpack in the Western United States (WUS) is vital for meeting summer hydrological demands, reducing the intensity and frequency of wildfires, and supporting snow‐tourism economies. While the frequency and severity of snow droughts (SD), that is, anomalously low snowpacks, are expected to increase under continued global warming, the uncertainty from internal climate variability remains challenging to quantify with observations alone. Using a 30‐member large ensemble from a state‐of‐the‐art global climate model, the Seamless System for Prediction and EArth System Research (SPEAR), and an observations‐based data set, we find WUS SD changes are already significant. By 2100, SPEAR projects SDs to be nearly 9 times more frequent under shared socioeconomic pathway 5‐8.5 (SSP5‐8.5) and 5 times more frequent under SSP2‐4.5, compared to a 1921–2011 average. By investigating the influence of the two primary drivers of SD, temperature and precipitation amount, we find the average WUS SD will become warmer and wetter. To assess how these changes affect future summer water availability, we track late winter and spring snowpack across WUS watersheds, finding differences in the onset time of a "no‐snow" threshold between regions and large internal variability within the ensemble that are both on the order of decades. We attribute the inter‐regional variability to differences in the regions' mean winter temperature and the intra‐regional variability to irreducible internal climate variability which is not well‐explained by temperature variations alone. Despite strong scenario forcing, internal climate variability will continue to drive variations in SD and no‐snow conditions through 2100. Plain Language Summary: Snow drought (SD) occurs when there is significantly less snow on the ground than normal. SDs can intensify water shortages, accelerate wildfires, and harm snow‐based tourism economies. For the Western United States, whose water supply is already limited, a recent increase in snow drought frequency is particularly concerning. Here, we use observational data and a new climate model to examine snow drought changes across the region between 1921 and 2100. We find SDs are already more common and could increase almost nine times under a high emissions scenario or five times under moderate emissions cuts by 2100. To better understand the increase, we tracked the evolution of the two main snow drought drivers: warmer temperatures and decreased precipitation. We find the average snow drought will become warmer and wetter, indicating warming temperatures are driving the increase. As the model consists of multiple simulations of future climate, or ensemble members, that differ only in the realization of random climate variability, we can determine when Western regions are expected to lose most of their spring snowpack. We find that loss timing varies dramatically between regions and ensemble members, suggesting random climate variability will shape the West's future water availability. Key Points: Excluding the Pacific Northwest, observed increases of Western U.S. severe snow drought by 4%–46% are supported by the Seamless System for Prediction and EArth System Research (SPEAR) climate model21st century increases in Western U.S. severe snow drought in SPEAR are driven by rising temperatures and not decreased precipitationBy 2100 under SSP5‐8.5, SPEAR projects persistent Western U.S. spring no‐snow with timing sensitive to internal climate variability [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article discusses the federal promise of water, the judicial origins of the federal trust responsibility, and the impact of the Arizona v. Navajo Nation decision on tribal water rights. Most importantly, this Article proposes legal mechanisms for tribes and tribal advocates to use to depict and advance tribal water rights. Ideas from property law and contract law provide opportunities for exploration and hope to tribes seeking certainty in a time of water shortage. Courts provide a forum for the vindication of the federal trust responsibility and the promise of water. Cases like Arizona v. Navajo Nation will continue to appear in courts as water disappears in the West. Courts and legislatures must address the history of tribal water rights, what those rights entail, and the nature of the federal promise made to the tribes if they are to tackle the challenges posed to tribes and other governments by climate change. Private law comparisons to the federal trust doctrine demystify this complex facet of federal Indian law and provide additional frameworks that jurists and advocates can use to understand the nature of tribal water rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ayuningtias AW, Solichatun, Pangastuti A. 2024. Foliar salicylic acid application to enhance the morphophysiology of Basella alba and Basella alba var. cordifolia under water deficit stress. Nusantara Bioscience 16: 96-103. Global climate change and increasing temperatures are becoming problems in the cultivation of medicinal plants such as Basella alba L. and Basella alba var. cordifolia (Lam.) M.R.Almeida. Foliar salicylic acid on leaves increases growth and productivity in medicinal cultivation. This study aims to determine the exogenous application of salicylic acid to increase the morphophysiology measurement in B. alba and B. alba var. cordifolia under water deficit stress. The study was carried out using a two-factor, completely randomized design consisting of salicylic acid concentration (0, 2, and 6 mM) and water deficit stress (100% (control), 75% field capacity (light stress), 50% wide field capacity (medium stress) and 25% field capacity (heavy stress). The observation results included morphophysiology. The best result on dry weight for B. alba was followed by SA 0mM+Medium stress with 5.45 g; in B. alba var. cordifolia was followed by SA 0mM+ Heavy stress with 3.09 g. Fresh weight for B. alba was followed by SA 4mM+ Heavy stress with 35.95 g, and B. alba var. cordifolia was followed by SA 0mM+ Heavy stress with 35.66 g. The shoot-to-root ratios in B. alba and B. alba var. cordifolia were followed by SA 2mM+Medium stress with 0.93 and 0.99, respectively. Quercetin in B. alba was followed by SA 4mM+ Heavy stress with 2.88% w/w, and B. alba var. cordifolia was followed by SA 6mM+Medium stress with 1.93% w/w. The gallic acid in B. alba and B. alba var. cordifolia was followed by SA 6mM+Medium stress with 10.21% w/w and 9.44% w/w. Prolin in B. alba and B. alba var. cordifolia was followed by SA 6mM+Medium stress with 8.74 and 9.73 µmol/gram wet weight. This study concluded that foliar salicylic acid application enhanced the morphophysiology, including growth, secondary metabolites, and proline accumulation of B. alba and B. alba var. cordifolia under water deficit stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging climate-development processes jeopardize water supply, especially in the Global South. In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, disrupted water flows driven by climate change and hydropower development have caused water scarcity, threatening agricultural systems in both upstream and coastal areas. Based on insights from desk reviews, stakeholder workshops and interviews with local informants, this paper argues that while grey (engineered) solutions take precedence in addressing water scarcity, securing water sustainability (water retention) for agricultural resilience demands integrated 'grey–green' (engineered-nature-based) solutions. This paper suggests demands for translating this approach into the water governance framework for the delta's agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of studying Earth systems and climate change. It explains that Earth systems, such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere, help us understand how the planet works and supports life. The article also highlights the impact of human activities on Earth systems and the current drought conditions in the United States, particularly in the southwest and western states. It emphasizes the need for proactive measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, including improving irrigation methods, desalination, demand management, and respecting the rights and interests of Native American tribes. The article concludes by suggesting various ways individuals can contribute to reducing the effects of climate change, such as using renewable energy sources and supporting local businesses that promote climate-smart practices. [Extracted from the article]

[Display omitted] A new high-quality chironomid-based temperature record was obtained from Shuanghu Lake in arid NW China. Combined with hydroclimatic and historical datasets, we demonstrated the direct effect (water shortages) and indirect effect (geopolitical conflicts) of climate change on the shift of the Silk Road route from the Tarim Basin to the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains during ∼420–850 CE. Although climate change has convincingly been linked to the evolution of human civilization on different temporal scales, its role in influencing the spatial patterns of ancient civilizations has rarely been investigated. The northward shift of the ancient Silk Road (SR) route from the Tarim Basin (TB) to the Junggar Basin during ∼420–850 CE provides the opportunity to investigate the relationship between climate change and the spatial evolution of human societies. Here, we use a new high-resolution chironomid-based temperature reconstruction from arid China, combined with hydroclimatic and historical datasets, to assess the possible effects of climate fluctuations on the shift of the ancient SR route. We found that a cooling/drying climate in the TB triggered the SR route shift during ∼420–600 CE. However, a warming/wetting climate during ∼600–850 CE did not inhibit this shift, but instead promoted it, because of the favorable climate-induced geopolitical conflicts between the Tubo Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty in the TB. Our findings reveal two distinct ways in which climate change drove the spatial evolution of human civilization, and they demonstrate the flexibility of societal responses to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis is presented of the precipitation bias and change signal in an ensemble of regional climate model (RCM) (RegCM4) projections driven by multiple general circulation models (GCMs) over China. RegCM4 is driven by five different GCMs for the 120‐year period 1979–2099 at 25 km grid spacing, under the representative concentration pathway RCP8.5. We find that the GCMs and RegCM4 reproduce the general spatial pattern of precipitation over China in all four seasons, with RegCM4 providing greater spatial detail, especially over areas with complex terrain. The spatial patterns of precipitation bias show common features between the GCMs and RegCM4, characterized by an underestimation in the wetter regions, and an overestimation in the drier ones. Systematic increases of precipitation are projected in northern China, most pronounced in the Northwest basins, by both the GCMs and RegCM4 in all seasons except summer, when more mixed results are found. In addition, weak correlations of the projected change patterns are found in summer between the GCMs and nested RegCM4, indicating the greater role played by the representation of local convection processes during this monsoon season. The projections across the RegCM4 experiments show higher consistency and lower spread compared to the GCM ensemble, again indicating that the nested model physics significantly modulates the change signal deriving from the GCM boundary forcing. Plain Language Summary: China is a vulnerable country to climate change due to its dense population, unbalanced social and economic development, shortage of water resources, and fragile ecosystems. How future precipitation will change over the region is of great concern for the general public and decision makers. This paper presents a first analysis of precipitation simulations from a set of five RCM (RegCM4) 21st century climate change projections, driven by coarse resolution general circulation models (GCMs) over China. We find that the spatial patterns of precipitation bias show common features between the GCMs and RegCM4, characterized by a precipitation underestimation in the wetter regions, and an overestimation in the drier ones. Systematic increases of precipitation are projected in north China by both the GCMs and RegCM4 in all seasons except summer, when, weak correlations of the projected change patterns are found between the GCMs and nested RegCM4, indicating the greater role of the representation of local convection processes during this monsoon season. The projections across the RegCM4 experiments show higher consistency and lower spread compared to the GCM ensemble, again indicating that the nested model physics significantly modulates the change signal deriving from the GCM boundary forcing. Key Points: The spatial patterns of bias show common features between the GCMs and RegCM4RegCM4 provides greater spatial detail of present day precipitation simulation compared to the GCMs and finer structures of future changesThe change patterns across the RegCM4 projections show a high correlation, but not always between each pair of driving GCM and RegCM4 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Water is the most important environmental factor for sustainability of rice production. Traditionally rice was cultivated by continuous flooding. Due to global climate change and rapid industrialization and urbanization, the amount of water utilised for agriculture is declining which increases the water scarcity for irrigated rice production. Methods: The present experiment was carried out during Kuruvai (July-November) 2022 at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Experiments were carried out with five treatments viz., T1 - 100% Saturation under drip irrigation, T2 - 150% Saturation under drip irrigation T3 - 200% Saturation under drip irrigation, T4 - System of Rice Intensification (SRI), T5 - Conventional method. Result: Results of the experiment showed that growth parameters was higher in SRI method and this was on par with conventinal method. SRI method recorded significantly higher yield parameters and grain yield. From the above results, it can be concluded that. SRI method performed well compared to different method of cultivation due to the synergistic effects of various cultivation principles followed in this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing global climate, characterized by rising surface air temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and heightened occurrences of extreme weather events, is anticipated to profoundly impact the environment, economy, and society worldwide. This impact is particularly acute in African nations like Angola, where crucial sectors, such as agriculture, rely heavily on climate variability and exhibit limited adaptive capacity. Given that the majority of Angola's agriculture is rain-fed and serves as a vital source of livelihood for the populace, the country is especially vulnerable to climate change, particularly in its southern region. Climate change has caused severe damage in Angola, especially in the southern part of the country, where the worst droughts in decades have affected over 3.81 million people, resulting in food and water shortages. Between 2005 and 2017, climate-related disasters cost the country about 1.2 billion US dollars, further exacerbating the economic and social challenges faced by the population. This study presents a systematic review of the effects of climate change on agriculture in Angola, with a focus on the southern region. Employing the PRISMA2020 methodology, the review examined 431 documents from databases such as Scopus and Web Science, spanning from 1996 to 2023, with 63 meeting inclusion criteria. The review reveals a paucity of research on the short and long-term impacts of climate change on Angolan agriculture. Projections indicate a rise in temperatures and a general decrease in precipitation, with the southern region experiencing a more pronounced decline. Agricultural productivity may suffer significantly, with models suggesting a potential 7% reduction by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our world faces potentially catastrophic climate change that can damage human health in multiple ways. The impact of climate change is uneven, disproportionately affecting the lives and livelihoods of women and girls. This conceptual article compiles evidence for a model that argues that climate change has more detrimental consequences for women than men because of women's precarity (unequal power) and corporal (physical) vulnerability. Climate change challenges the human rights of women and girls, triggering displacement, interrupted education, food and water scarcity, economic instability, mental and physical health challenges, reproductive injustice, gender‐based violence, exploitation and human trafficking. Women are effective and essential change agents; their empowerment can directly contravene or mitigate climate change and also break the links between climate change and its negative consequences for women and girls. Gender‐sensitive responses to the effects of climate change are imperative. Women's empowerment will further human rights and achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]